VIENNA, November 25. /TASS/. The date of a possible next round of talks on the Syrian settlement has not been discussed yet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday.
The United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura “is currently in the process of establishing contacts with all partners,” he said. “But so far, the Geneva III conference is out of the question."
According to the Russian diplomat, de Mistura “continues his contacts in the region.” “He has a number of interesting ideas, including on local reconciliation, truces in some Syrian cities in order to send humanitarian aid there, to create conditions for relief aid to the population,” he said.
“He thinks this is what should be done first, that the more such truces they have in different cities, the more solid the basis for the beginning of political settlement is,” Gatilov noted.
The Russian side, he said, is confident that “the Geneva document remains the basis for efforts to find ways of settlement, to continue dialogue between the parties.” “But at some point, there will probably be a necessity to consider the format of a meeting,” he added.