MOSCOW, Russia:July 3 (Xinhua) — Russia will not attend a Friends of Syria meeting to be held in Paris this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
“After the start of the Geneva process on June 30, there is no need for any other forums like that, where nearly 150 countries will participate,” Lavrov said, adding the Friends of Syria group had from the start only sought to back the “external” Syrian opposition.
“We cannot share the aims (of that group) because they are directed at raising confrontation, not at creating an environment for the all-Syrian dialogue without outside intervention,” Lavrov told reporters.
The senior diplomat also accused the West of distorting the accord reached in Geneva.
“Some representatives of the Syrian opposition started to say the Geneva decisions have been unacceptable for them. Meanwhile, some Western participants started to publicly distort the agreements reached,” Lavrov said. “(The agreements) need not be interpreted. They mean what the communique said. Our position in this regard is honest,” he said.
Lavrov called on the international community to jointly urge all sides in the Syrian conflict to end violence and start negotiations. He confirmed Russia had contacted the Syrian opposition during their July 2-3 meeting in Egypt with the Arab League’s help.
“Our ambassador in Cairo will persuade the Syrian opposition to find common approaches toward the peaceful settlement and agree on who will represent them during the talks with the Syrian government,” Lavrov said. A delegation of the Syrian opposition would visit Moscow next week, Lavrov said, adding the trip had been re-scheduled at the request of an opposition group.
Moscow intended to take this chance to foster the intra-Syria dialogue between the government and the opposition, Lavrov said. (Xinhua)
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