MOSCOW (Sputnik) — All parties interested in resolving the Syrian crisis should engage in negotiations efforts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
"Those who are interested in the settlement of the Syrian crisis and creating the conditions for the Syrians themselves — ethnic, religious and political groups — to decide on how they want to see their country, they all must respond to an invitation to participate in the negotiation process," Lavrov said at a briefing.
Russia would welcome the formation of a unified opposition delegation at Syrian crisis settlement talks.
"Of course, we would prefer for that to happen, for the government to have one negotiating partner. But we do not see any harm in there being several," Lavrov said.
Speaking alongside his Eritrean colleague, the minister said "we will only welcome if those who came to Moscow on January 27 for a briefing on how the Syrian settlement talks in Astana [on January 23-24] decided to unite."
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in December that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and on readiness to start peace talks.
