Russia manages to overcome Syrian opposition delegation’s mistrust - Russia’s chief negotiator

ASTANA, January 23. /TASS/. Russia has managed to overcome mistrust of the Syrian opposition delegation to the Astana talks and proved itself as a reliable partner, Russian president’s special envoy on the Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev, who leads the Russian delegation to the Astana talks, said on Monday. "We felt certain mistrust at first but later the opposition delegation saw that Russia is a reliable partner that keeps his word," he said. According to the Russian diplomat, the Russian delegation managed to get across to the opposition that "once Russia guarantees any actions or agreements, this word can be relied upon." Yahya al-Aridi, an adviser of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) and a spokesman for the Syrian opposition delegation, said earlier on Monday that the meeting with Lavrentyev had focused on ceasefire observance and ways to reach political settlement in Syria. Read more