Russia ready to be guarantor of Syria agreements if that’s acceptable to everyone — Putin
In particular, Russia is ready to engage in the process along with its partners - Iran and Turkey, he added
SOCHI, October 6. /TASS/. Russia is ready to create the necessary conditions and be a guarantor of agreements about Syria if that’s acceptable to everyone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.
"As for Syria, we are supporters of the peace process, including under the auspices of the UN. But we cannot be a substitute for the negotiating sides. We can only create conditions and to a certain extent, and if it is acceptable to all, act as guarantors of these agreements," he said.
In particular, Russia is ready to engage in the process along with its partners - Iran and Turkey, he added.
"We have been doing it all, and this process had produced positive results. By now, <…> a lot has been achieved, thanks God, and I’m referring first of all to ceasefire and favorable conditions for a peace process. We did it all with our partners and with the Syrian government’s good will. But a lot still remains to be done, however," he said.
In the Russian leader’s opinion, foreign meddling and attempts to create quasi-state structures on the territory of Syria will not do any good.
"The eviction of Arab tribes who traditionally inhabited these territories, carried out in order to create these quasi-state structures, are a painful process that may further delay a solution to the conflict," the president added.
In his words, Russia is ready to promote various types of confidence-building measures, "including between the Syrian government and Kurdish groups in the east of the country.".