US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before peace talks for Syria, in Zurich, Switzerland, January 20, 2016.
Advertisement
Earlier Wednesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Russian air strikes had killed more than 1,000 civilians, including more than 200 children, in Syria since they began in September.
Disagreements persists among participants, such as the USA and Russian Federation, about which opposition groups should be invited to the january 25 talks.
Despite their rift, Iran and Saudi Arabia “probably realize that the time has come to try to find a political solution (on Syria) which will be a compromise”, de Mistura said.
The United Nations said on Monday it would not issue invitations to the talks until major powers pushing the peace process, which include the United States and Russian Federation, agree which rebel representatives should attend.
In a press conference following his meeting with US State Secretary John Kerry, Lavrov said “we emphasized coordinating work with the American side in the field of combating terrorism”. “We’ve seen Russian strikes on opposition forces, on towns and villages, particularly in the south of Syria, which is simply prolonging the Syrian war, propping up Assad and is actually delaying the day on which we can all unite and properly get Daesh out of Syria”.
The negotiations are the first step in a U.N.-endorsed 18-month political transition plan for Syria aimed at ending the almost five-year civil war.
“The command of the Russian Air Force continues its cooperation with the units of the [anti-terrorist] opposition in Syria, which are fighting Islamic State, Jabhat Al-Nusra and other terror groups”, he added.
In Zurich, Kerry and Lavrov also discussed the situation in Ukraine and compared notes on how to speed up the full implementation of an agreement to end hostilities in the east, where government troops are continuing to battle Russia-backed separatists, Kirby said.
Contrary to the position held by Washington, Lavrov reiterates that the armed Islamist groups Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham are not acceptable as invitees, labelling them terrorist organizations. He said the agreement with Iran made Israel safer. Air strikes of Russia’s Aerospace Force in Syria have helped the country’s governmental forces to partially regain control over some of its territory, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said. He also announced the names of opposition figures that would take part in any talks.
Advertisement
“We spoke about how the Russian airforce, when planning its actions, takes into account the programmes that the United Nations humanitarian organisations, the Red Cross and other NGOs carry out”, Lavrov said.
