MOSCOW: Russia is making all efforts to prevent the Syrian conflict from escalating into a large-scale regional explosion, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"Deepening of the crisis in Syria threatens serious troubles of the regional scale. We understand that and try to divert an explosion of the Middle East," Lavrov said in an interview published on the ministry's website. Moscow's current major task is to bring the Syrian government and the opposition to the negotiating table in order to start the intra-Syria political process, he said.
"We have worked with Damascus thoroughly. As a result, the Syrian government agreed to participate in the conference and created a negotiation team," Lavrov said.
But for the opposition, things were much more complicated, he added, citing lack of a positive program and discords within the opposition itself.
Lavrov noted that the Geneva-Two conference should gather permanent members of the UN Security Council, the EU, Arab League, Syria's neighboring countries, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
According to the top Russian diplomat, actions of the conference's potential participants hamper preparations for the meeting.
He mentioned "distorted rendering" of the Geneva communique, adoption of one-sided pro-opposition resolutions and intentions to arm the rebels, set up "humanitarian corridors" and impose a no-fly zone over Syria.
Such actions were similar to the extremists' action on the ground, he said.
"It is necessary to stop violence in Syria and give peace a chance in that country," Lavrov said, warning that the 27-month-long conflict could spread to neighboring countries otherwise. |
