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Conflict in Syria

Senior Russian diplomat, Syrian opposition discuss US, Turkish operations

Participants in the meeting stressed the importance of redoubling the efforts to attain settlement in Syria

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russian President’s special envoy to the Middle East and North Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on Thursday discussed U.S. and Turkish military operations in Syria with representatives of the oppositionist public and political movement calling itself the Damascus Platform, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"In the course of the conversation, the sides had a frank exchange of opinions on the situation that has taken shape in and around Syria, and especially in the context of recent crude violations of its sovereignty like the April 7 U.S. missile strike at the Shayrat airbase to the south of Homs, the Turkish strikes at Kurdish self-defense units in northern Syria on April 25 and the Israeli Air Force strike at the Damascus international airport compound on April 27," the report said.

Participants in the meeting stressed the importance of redoubling the efforts to attain settlement in Syria and bring the country’s civic society organizations into the process.

The Damascus Platform calls for peaceful political transformations in Syria. It occupies moderate positions and does not call for overthrowing President Bashar Assad.

Representatives of the movement were present in Geneva during the March round of pan-Syrian talks but did not take part in them.

Russia has said on numerous occasions the oppositions should be represented in a broadest possible way at the talks on Syrian peace settlement and all the political factions committed to transformations in the country should delegate their member to the opposition delegation at the Geneva talks.

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Syrian conflict

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