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Russian UN ambassador: Russia to continue efforts to promote intra-Syrian dialogue

UNITED NATIONS, April 21. /TASS/. Russia will continue to take efforts to promote intra-Syrian dialogue and hopes the current dynamics reached in the Moscow consultations would be given a fresh impetus thanks to the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, Russian Permanent Representative at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday.

The Russian diplomat stressed that it would be next to impossible to get closer to the implementation of the Geneva communique without building up direct contacts between the Syrian government and "sane opposition." "On our part, we will continue to promote the intra-Syrian dialogue," Churkin said. "We hope the dynamics reached in Moscow will be furthered thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Secretary General’s special envoy Staffan de Mistura, both in terms of resetting the political process on the basis of the Geneva communique and in terms of building up measures of trust through his initiative on local truces."

In the meantime, the United Nations secretariat said on Tuesday it valued Russia’s efforts towards establishing intra-Syrian dialogue, including through Moscow rounds of consultations between the Syrian government and opposition in January and April.

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