Russian ambassador, UN envoy discuss perspectives of Syrian settlement

GENEVA, May 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Geneva office Alexei Borodavkin met on Thursday with the U.N. Secretary General’s special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to discuss prospects of Syrian settlement. The meeting was part of consultations the U.N. envoy has been having in Geneva since May 5 with representatives of the Syrian government and opposition, and with key international and regional players, including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Today’s consultations "were held in a constructive and confidential atmosphere," Borodavkin told TASS. He said they had discussed "the entire spectrum of issues related to perspectives of political settlement of the Syrian conflict." "We stressed the importance of the two Moscow meetings between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition," the Russian diplomat noted. "Focus was made on the necessity to pool efforts of the Syrians and the international community to rebuff terrorist threat in Syria and the Middle East. Contacts between Russia and the United Nations on Syria will be continued." The key task of the Geneva consultations is to analyze the current situation in the Syrian settlement. After five to six weeks of consultation, de Mistura will issue a report to the United Nations Secretary General. Earlier, de Mistura said he expected to see envoys from the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF). He said he wanted to know the NCSROF’s point of view. The National Coalition however has refused to send its delegates in the Geneva consultations, TASS learnt form diplomatic sources. It did not take part in the two rounds of intra-Syrian consultations in Moscow. Diplomatic sources say this way the National Coalition is demonstrating its unwillingness to take part in a political dialogue aiming to find ways for peace settlement of the conflict in Syria. Read more