Russia and US already making efforts to stop conflict in Syria - Russian diplomat

GENEVA, April 29. /TASS/. Russia and the United States are already making joint efforts to stop the conflict in Syria but only Syrians themselves are capable of finding a way out of the crisis, Russian envoy to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva Alexey Borodavkin said on Friday. Earlier this week UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged Russia and US to intervene "at the highest level" and take urgent measures to save Syrian peace talks. "Russia and US are certainly making joint efforts to put an end to the Syrian conflict. Together we achieved cessation of hostilities in Syria despite actions of terrorists and their patrons. However, neither us nor Americans expected peace in Syria to start right after that," Borodavkin said. "We understand very well that there are opponents of stopping an armed conflict in Syria, and they will do everything possible to disrupt cessation of hostilities," he added. "However, the regime is in general observed, and reports from Syria, in particular from the Russian center on reconciliation in Hmeimim, confirm this," he noted. The diplomat noted that Russia and US, as co-chairs of the Syria International Support Group (ISSG), continue to provide to the sides in the conflict "assistance in resolving concrete issues connected with observing cessation of hostilities and with delivering humanitarian aid, and on the issue of freeing prisoners and prisoners of war, and on many other matters." "Moscow’s position is that the sides in the conflict, Damascus and moderate political opposition, should agree between themselves on the modalities of political transition and settlement in Syria, on the institutions that need to be set up for this," Borodavkin concluded. Read more