Key goal of Vienna meeting is to launch political process in Syria - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. The major goal of the meeting in Vienna on Friday is to launch a political process in Syria with the broad support of foreign players, an official spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said. "The key task of the participants of the meeting is to help launching the political process in Syria through inter-Syrian dialogue as soon as possible," the Russian diplomat said. She welcomed the news that along with Turkey, the Arab countries and Syria’s neighbors, and also the influential countries of the region, including Egypt and Iran, will participate in the meeting. "From the beginning, Russia has insisted on ensuring the efficient foreign mediation of the negotiation process that the Syrians hold on resolving the crisis in the country," Zakharova said. "We spoke about the need to use the potential of all the foreign players who are somehow involved and may make a positive constructive contribution," the diplomat told reporters. Only multilateral rather than unilateral format, like the Friends of Syria group, may bring peace and tranquility for a new peaceful and democratic Syria, Zakharova stressed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also hold a number of meetings in Vienna to discuss bilateral relations and topical regional issues, she said. Read more