MOSCOW, November 19, 17:14 /ITAR-TASS/. Russia hails the Syrian government’s position on convening an international conference on conflict settlement in that country without any preliminary conditions on the basis of the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012 and the United Nations Security Council resolution number 2118, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday at a meeting with a Syrian governmental delegation.
“We hail your government’s accord on these issues, we have long been saying this,” he said.”Now we want similar accord from the regime’s opponents.”
The Russian foreign minister noted that in line with the Geneva communique the agenda of the conference on Syria must include the entire range of issues related to the conflict settlement. “They include measures to stop violence, efficient steps to exterminate the terrorism threat, release of political prisoners and prisoners of war, and additional measures on humanitarian aid to those who need it,” he said. “They also include the political process to reach accord and mutually acceptable solutions between the parties to the conflict.”
Having laid bare their demands at the conference, the Syrians will be able to analyze them and begin efforts to find way to have them resolved, Lavrov noted. There must be no preliminary conditions for participation in the conference, he stressed.
“We are confident the Geneva-2 conference must be called as soon as possible,” he added.