Foreign ministers of Russia, Syria to discuss all aspects of the Syrian political process launch

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. The joint fight against terrorism and the launch of a political process in Syria will be discussed in Moscow on Monday by the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Syria - Sergey Lavrov and Walid Muallem. Muallem is in the Russian capital since November 25, he has met with speaker of the Russian State Duma lower house of parliament Sergey Naryshkin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and head of the Duma’s International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ministerial talks will be "very detailed and substantial." They will focus on the issue of the political process start. ""The current situation requires concerted effort by external forces to create favourable conditions for the inter-Syrian dialogue," the diplomat noted, adding that they should not "attempt to impose ready-made solutions," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "In accordance with the understanding reached within the framework of the International Syria Support Group, conditions are necessary for launching the dialogue between Syria’s government and the Syrian opposition. They must be created before the end of this year," Zakharova said. She recalled that "Damascus had already compiled the list of its representatives for participation in the inter-Syrian dialogue." "As for the opposition groups, they are faced with the task of developing the general political platform and a team of responsible negotiators," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. According to her, during the talks the Syrian foreign minister "intends to discuss what steps could be useful in terms of building confidence between the official Damascus and opposition politicians in the interests of contributing to the subsequent promotion of the inter-Syrian dialogue." On October 20, Syrian President Bashar Assad visited the Russian capital, and before that Muallem visited Moscow on June 29. It was then that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in essence, for the first time put forward the initiative to establish a broad anti-terrorist front. Turkey, aiming for the Russian Su-24 plane, most likely targeted the future coalition prospects. The entire agenda of Friday’s talks in Moscow is likely to be centred round the incident in the Syrian sky on November 24. The downing of the Russian bomber, in addition to the coalition, raises the issue of the formation of the list of terrorist groups and the opposition organisations. What offended Erdogan "We have not heard yet apologies from the highest political level of Turkey. Nor do we hear proposals to repair the damage or promises to punish the perpetrators for the committed crime," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of presentation of credentials by new foreign ambassadors to Russia. "One gets the impression that the Turkish leadership is deliberately steering the Russian-Turkish relations into the dead end, this is regrettable," he added. Putin said that "what happened two days ago in the sky over Syria (the attack on Russia’s Su-24 jet taking part in the anti-terrorist operation -TASS) runs counter to common sense and international law: the aircraft was shot down over Syrian territory." The Russian president added that he considered "treacherous stabs in the back Russia got from those it had regarded as partners in the struggle with terrorism utterly unexplainable." One can only guess what made the Turkish top leadership to take this provocative step: unrealised ambitions of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to play the role of the regional leader or a personal grudge against Russia and Syria. Of course, the economic interests have also been affected here. According to Sergey Lavrov, the situation with the illegal trade in oil from the Syrian territories seized by militants is now seen in a different light. "The incident happened after our aircraft delivered pinpointed and very effective strikes on these tank trucks and the oil fields in general," the minister said. Walid Muallem expressed a similar view. "The Turkish leadership was offended by the fact that the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed the sources of terrorist groups’ financing, Erdogan was also angry because the Syrian army is successfully advancing in a number of areas of Syria, especially in the northern province of Hama." The plans for making Russia scale down its operation, as well as for Moscow’s emotional reaction did not work out. Russia as a responsible country of the world community that stands at the origins of the modern system of international relations did not fall into hysteria. It would be beneath its dignity to act meanly in response to foul play: the response will be balanced and carefully considered. "We are not planning to wage a war against Turkey, our attitude towards the Turkish people has not changed," the minister said. "We have questions only to the Turkish leadership," Lavrov said. At the same time the Russian minister, in fact, explained the Turkish proposals to establish a buffer zone. "I asked (in a telephone conversation with the Turkish foreign minister) if this attention of Turkey to this region, including the constant proposals to establish a buffer zone in this territory, is caused by the desire to protect this infrastructure and to prevent its destruction. I got no response to this question as well," he said. Only by lists to Vienna The footage of militants’ "dances" at the Russian pilot’s body confirm the urgent need to agree on the list of terrorist organisations. Murderers, are murderers, no matter how "moderate they are called: no dialogue with them is possible, they only subject to neutralisation. "Until the single list of terrorist organisations to which the ceasefire regime will not apply, and the single list of the opposition delegation are complied, it will be very difficult to continue the Vienna process," the minister said. He added: "Given all the importance of the Vienna process, until the last meeting’s decision on the agreement on the opposition delegation membership and on the formation of the single list of terrorist organisations is implemented, the continuation of meetings in this format is very, very doubtful," Lavrov said. For launching the political process, the Vienna consultations’ participants on November 14 adopted a statement that called on the Syrian government and the opposition to hold consultations before January 1, 2016. Walid Muallem, responding to a TASS question about the timeframe of such negotiations, decided to keep the intrigue: "I am meeting with Sergey Lavrov. After that everything will be clear. I would like to answer your question after this meeting." The Russian Foreign Ministry slightly lifted the veil of secrecy, saying that Muallem "intends to discuss what steps could be useful in terms of building confidence between official Damascus and the opposition politicians in the interests of facilitating the following promotion of the inter-Syrian dialogue." Syrians themselves As it was expected, Ankara has interpreted the talks in Vienna in its own way: the consensus on Assad’s non-participation in the future presidential election has been reached. Lavrov has rejected such interpretations. "There was no agreement whatsoever that Syrian President Bashar Assad will not participate in that or other stage of the political process. Indeed, some countries, including our Turkish colleagues, have put forward such ideas, but they have not been supported by consensus. So, it would be absolutely wrong to say that someone has agreed not to participate," he said. "All the agreed things were written on paper and are not subject to any interpretation." According to the Vienna statement, the preparation of the presidential election should take 18 months: in particular, after the ceasefire it is necessary to create within six months an inclusive and non-confessional system of government and a new constitution. Moscow has repeatedly said that the issue of Assad’s participation in the political process should be settled by Syrians themselves. Bilateral issues In light of the recent, safety of Russians staying in Syria becomes a priority. "Special attention will be paid to the safety of Russian citizens and institutions that continue to function in Syria," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Muallem has optimistic forecasts on security issues: "Thanks to Russia’s assistance, coordination with the Syrian Air Force, we can say that we are already started the countdown to the elimination of terrorism in Syria." The ministers will also consider the state of and prospects for developing bilateral relations in various fields, including the provision of humanitarian assistance to the affected population. In addition, the ministry said, the preparations are underway to restore the previous trade turnover volume. The reason is clear: the war will not last forever, and the life goes on. Read more