Russia expects the United States to conduct details talks with the armed Syrian opposition unwilling to comply with this week’s ceasefire, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Sputnik on Friday.
Bogdanov said in an interview that some of the armed groups “place themselves outside these agreements and in effect support the terrorists” with their reluctance to respect the Russian-US-brokered truce.
“We expect from our US partners a demanding conversation with these irreconcilable opposition members, because their position does not lead to peace in Syria,” he stressed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a new plan on September 9 aimed at reducing violence in Syria, including a new nationwide ceasefire that took effect Monday. The pact envisions Russian-US anti-terrorism coordination through a Joint Implementation Center if the truce holds up without violations for a week.
Moreover, the Russian official stressed that Russia-US Syria truce pact does not tackle the future of Assad, however it should promote start of inclusive Intra-Syrian talks.
Bogdanov said that it is still unclear whether the Syrian Kurds will participate in the intra-Syria talks in Geneva, as some members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) continue to oppose Kurdish participation.
“Russia’s principal position is that the biggest Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party [PYD] has the right to participate in the Geneva process. There is still no clarity regarding this issue. Some ISSG members exert strong pressure, because they consider the PYD to be terrorists’ supporters or an unnecessary element as Kurdish representatives from other political groups are taking part in the Geneva talks,” Bogdanov said in an interview.
According to Bogdanov, Moscow considers “such an approach to be wrong and urges partners to invite PYD representatives to Geneva, as PYD is the leading force, which has organized resistance against the Islamic State in the north-eastern Syria.”
Russia has been calling on the United Nations to invite Syrian Kurds to the proximity talks on settlement of the five-year civil war in Syria, the latest round of which took place in Geneva on April 13-27. The Daesh terrorist group has been outlawed in Russian and multiple other states.
Source: Websites
