Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet tomorrow to discuss the Iranian nuclear programme and peace efforts in Syria, Russia’s foreign ministry said yesterday. “Special attention was paid to effort towards contribution to the Syrian settlement, that can be only peaceful and can be achieved only on the basis on negotiations between the Syrian parties without interference from outside”, Lavrov said.
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In a sudden reversal, Moscow acquiesced last week to longstanding US demands for insertion of chemical weapons inspectors.
Three months ago, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi for an unexpected meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
18, 2011 released a written statement from President Barack Obama: “For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President (Bashar) Assad to step aside”. Their political and strategic interests in Syria trump the welfare of the country, and they will do anything to protect their national interests and shape the country’s future to fit their needs.
“We are in contact with all the political forces in Syria, both with the government, and with all the opposition groups working inside the country and overseas”.
“Russia and Iran will cooperate in the production of stable isotopes in accordance with the Vienna agreements on Fordow”, Zarif said.
He emphasized that Iran and Russian Federation would proceed with the expansion of ties on regional and global developments. He had no more success with the Syrian opposition on Thursday. The same goes for providing military-technical assistance to the Iraqi government for fighting the same Islamic State.
That said, any political solution must be anchored on the establishment of a new transitional government led by representatives of the Sunni majority with proportional representation of all other ethnic and religious factions, including the Alawites.
“We’ve got an Arab world already deeply concerned that the agreement means we’re cozying up to Iran“, said Ryan Crocker, a retired diplomat who has served as U.S. ambassador to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Kuwait. Russian Federation is providing military-technical support to the Syrian government so that it can counter this threat.
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One of these US air strikes, targeting the village of Atmeh, killed eight civilians, including at least five children ages four through 10 and two women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
