UNSC Resolution on Syria Masks Serious Disagreements – Russian Official

The recently-adopted UN Security Council resolution on Syria is only a general roadmap that masks serious disagreements on the issue of Syrian peace settlement, head of the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of Russia's parliament (State Duma) Alexei Pushkov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – At the end of last week, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Syrian settlement, which reaffirmed the goals of the Vienna agreements to bring the entire spectrum of the political groups in the crisis-torn country to the negotiating table.

"Overall, a very cautions assessment with elements of optimism can be given on Syria. There are no major changes in the US position, there are only pragmatic, tactical shifts linked to the fact that the US does not want to be left out of the highly important processes going on in the country," Pushkov said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

The resolution supports a ceasefire in Syria, sets a target of six months for a government transition, while elections in the country are planned to be held within 18 months.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with the army loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition factions and militant groups, including Daesh.

The West and several Middle Eastern countries do not consider Assad to be the legitimate authority of Syria. In 2011, Washington imposed sanctions against him in the hope that he would step down.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is up to the Syrian people to decide on their leadership.

In the 2014 Syrian presidential elections, Bashar Assad won a landslide victory, receiving 88.7 percent of the votes.