Russia favours the convening of ministerial meeting on Syria in New York on December 18

MOSCOW, December 15 /TASS/. Moscow and Washington have confirmed the Vienna agreements on the Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin had met the Russian and U.S. foreign policy chiefs. "Today, we have confirmed the agreements, which the Russian and U.S. military reached and which also apply to the U.S.-led coalition, which is fighting against the Islamic State (a terrorist group which is banned in Russia)," Lavrov said. "In practical terms, we agreed on some further steps, which will help making struggle against terrorism more effective," the Russian foreign minister added. The sides confirmed the Vienna agreements based on the 2012 Geneva Communique," Lavrov stressed. The Russian foreign minister said the sides had agreed to go ahead with compiling a single list of terrorist organizations - where great progress has already been made - and helping the United Nations to form a Syrian opposition delegation. The Russian foreign minister added that the opposition delegation should be representative and should be ready to negotiate constructively with the Syrian government delegation along the principles approved by the International Syria Support Group. Read more