Russia believes Syrians capable of deciding their country’s fate - Lavrov

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Moscow supports Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and believes that Syrians can solve the fate of their country themselves, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at the meeting with Syria’s opposition. Lavrov said Syria’s opposition forces on a constructive platform need to unite to step up the fight against terrorism and implement the Geneva communique, a roadmap adopted back in 2012 to end the conflict in the country. "It is not the first time when we meet. The visits of Syria’s delegations have already become a tradition. This is not just a process, these are our efforts on ending the bloodshed in Syria and restoring peace and security," Lavrov said. "Russia strongly supports Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and believes that Syrians are able to decide their fate themselves and to solve difficult problems that the country is facing," he added. This principle is enshrined in this April’s Moscow platform, Lavrov said. The sides then called for intensifying anti-terrorism fight to stave off a threat of bellicose extremism. The document confirmed the commitment to launch a true all-Syrian dialogue to "solve the problems based on common agreement between Syrians as envisaged by the Geneva communique." "We fully support your stance," the minister stressed. Lavrov reminded of an initiative of President Vladimir Putin on parallel efforts in the fight against terrorism and the implementation of the Geneva communique. "One of the further preconditions on this path is the unification of Syria’s opposition on a constructive platform for a dialogue with the government," Lavrov said. Read more