ABU DHABI, August 29. /TASS/. The United Arab Emirates welcomes efforts of Russia and Egypt on establishing dialogue between Syrian opposition’s major groups, the country’s Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan said on Tuesday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"The meeting in Riyadh was important as the opposition’s delegations were invited there," the foreign minister said. "We highly appreciate the efforts of Russia and Egypt on convincing the delegations that it is important to be present there in a positive way. But coordination between the opposition groups will take certain time."
Al Nahyan also noted the importance of efforts made by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to achieve the opposition’s unity. "We believe this should be part of ensuring success at talks in Geneva and Astana," he said. "However, all this should work in this direction."
The foreign minister called to focus on the fight against terrorist groups in Syria and use the opportunities for ending the armed standoff between the government and the opposition.
On August 21, Riyadh hosted a meeting of three major Syrian opposition groups (Moscow, Cairo and Riyadh). The participants failed to agree on creating a single delegation but decided to continue work in this direction. Another round of consultations is scheduled for October.