Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday no one could benefit from delays in the political settlement of the Syrian conflict, hoping that the new US administration will be more engaged in the fight against terrorism.
Talking to reporters at a press conference after talks with his counterpart from Burkina Faso, the top Russian diplomat said there are no sides that could be satisfied from a delay in the process to settle the Syrian crisis politically.
“Further delay cannot suit anyone,” Lavrov said.
He hailed the Astana initiative, through two rounds of meetings in the past two months, for “helping end the period of endless waiting on the part of UN colleagues” and “certain political opposition immigrants.”
“I met the other day in Bonn with [US State Secretary] Rex Tillerson. Of course, we discussed the situation in Syria, especially from the point of view of the fighting against international terrorism which was declared a priority of the administration of [president] Donald Trump,” Lavrov said.
The Russian minister expressed hope that “as soon as this team is formed, it will be actively involved in our joint efforts and that these efforts will be based on the interests of both the international community and the United States much more solidly than the efforts of their predecessors.”
The Astana talks on Syrian crisis settlement brought together the representatives of the Syrian government and the foreign-backed armed opposition groups for the first time in the six years of the Syrian war.
As a result of the talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to establish a trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire that came into effect on December 30, 2016.
Source: Sputnik
