MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described the results of the recent meeting of Syrian opposition groups in Madrid as “not reassuring,” and expressed hope that “constructive feedback” will follow.
Lavrov met with Syrian First Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad in Moscow to discuss, among other things, a conference proposed jointly by Moscow and Washington to bring the Syrian government and opposition groups to the negotiating table. Earlier this week, representatives of various Syrian opposition groups gathered in Madrid to forge a common stance for the conference, but their meetings have so far failed to produce any tangible result.
“We hope for constructive feedback to follow from various opposition groups. The news is yet far from being reassuring,” the foreign minister said at talks with Miqdad. “According to initial assessments, the meetings of some Syrian opposition groups yesterday and today in Madrid failed to bring about a decision on taking part in the conference without preconditions.”
Miqdad said that President Bashar Assad’s government also remains undecided on whether to participate.
“Once we return to Damascus, we will inform the government of the results of the talks in Moscow and then make our final decision on whether to take part in the conference,” he said.
Syrian opposition forces demand Assad’s resignation as a precondition for the talks. The United States said on Tuesday it had failed to secure the Syrian opposition’s consent to take part in the conference.
Lavrov announced after a Moscow meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry on May 7 that the two countries had decided to hold an international conference aimed at facilitating a solution to the Syrian crisis through political dialogue. Moscow wants to involve all the nations that took part in the Geneva conference on Syria last summer. The conference is expected to be held at the beginning of June.
