UNITED NATIONS, October 30 (RIA Novosti) — Russia is ready to take an active part in the regulation of the Syrian conflict, alongside with the UN's Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Thursday.
"We intend to participate very actively and call for [de Mistura] to continue his work together with us," Churkin said, following the UN Security Council consultations with de Mistura on the Syrian conflict.
"Russia is ready to work in other formats," he added.
According to the Russian envoy, de Mistura has announced a plan to form a "group of friends" of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Syrian issue. Churkin stressed that the group must include Iran and Saudi Arabia.
An armed conflict has been ongoing in Syria since 2011. The Syrian government is fighting multiple rebel groups, including Islamic State (IS) that has seized vast territories in Syria, as well as the neighboring Iraq. A US-led international coalition is currently carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in both countries.
