ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Russia counts on US efforts to convince the Syrian opposition to hold a constructive dialogue with the authorities in Damascus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
"We very much hope that our partners, first of all, the US partners, will work in appropriate way with its allies who support [the Syrian] opposition in order to convince this opposition to hold a constructive and joint work with the Syrian authorities," Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Putin added that the Syrian reconciliation issue had been discussed recently in detail with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. According to Putin, the sides stated that the Syrian crisis should have been solved under strict international control, the UN control, in particular.
