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Conflict in Syria

Foreign ministers of Syria Support Group to meet in Vienna on May 17

Foreign ministers of the Syria International Support Group will discuss ceasefire process and political settlement

© Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

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Agreements reached at Syria Support Group talks in Munich - Russian diplomat

VIENNA, May 17. /TASS/. Foreign ministers of the countries making up the Syria International Support Group will meet in Vienna on Tuesday to resolve two main tasks - to ensure the ceasefire in the much-suffering country and to assist the political settlement process that is prone to getting into a deadlock a yet another time after two rounds of pan-Syrian talks.

Russia will be represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Syria Support Group had the first meeting on October 30, 2015. Russia and the US co-chair the group, the efforts of which made it possible to achieve a range of important breakthroughs in the Syrian peace settlement.

On February 11, 2016, the parties to the Syria International Support Group coordinated the parameters of ceasefire that went into effect as of February 27. They also set up two special-purpose groups, one for monitoring observance of the ceasefire and the other, for humanitarian issues.

Russia and the US supported declaration of the so-called ‘silence regime’ in the areas of Aleppo, Latakia and Damascus. Moscow and Washington also issued a statement spelling out the main problems in the sphere of maintenance of ceasefire and the ways of their solution.

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