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FM: All regional forces, including Iran, should take part in Geneva II conference

MOSCOW, January 15. /ITAR-TASS/. All the international and regional forces, having influence on the developments in Syria should participate in the Geneva II conference on the Syrian conflict settlement, the Russian Foreign Minister said on Wednesday in the run-up to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s visit to Moscow on January 16.

“The positions of Russia and Iran on the Syrian crisis largely coincide, first of all they both have the view that there is no alternative to its peaceful settlement,” the ministry said in a commentary. “It can be done by calling an international conference on Syria (Geneva II).”

In the view of Russia, “all the international and regional forces that influence the developments in the Syrian Arab Republic should take part in it.”

Moscow believes that the “work at the Geneva II conference will be based on the provisions of the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012.” “All the responsible decisions on Syria’s future should be made by Syrians themselves on the basis of mutual accord and without external pressure,” the Foreign Ministry emphasised.

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