BOCHAROV RUCHEI, August 22./TASS/. All foreign forces staying in Syria without an invitation from Damascus must leave the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in comments on a statement by US National Security Adviser John Bolton.

"All foreign forces staying there without an invitation from the Syrian government must be eventually withdrawn," Lavrov told reporters.

Bolton, who will meet with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Geneva on August 23, said he was ready to discuss with Moscow aspects of the Syrian settlement but on condition the Iranian forces would be sent back to Iran.