The spots of terrorists that still remain in Syria are being eliminated and will be completely destroyed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told on Monday at a press conference following a visit to Damascus.
"The main feature of the current stage is due to the fact that Syria, including with the support of the Russian Federation, stood up in the fight against international terrorism and the forces that hatched the project of destroying the Syrian state. The remaining terrorists on the Syrian territory are being eliminated and will be completely destroyed, " he said.
Order in Syria
Sergey Lavrov said that at the meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the parties noted the establishment of relative calmness in the Arab Republic.
"During a long conversation with the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Mr. Bashar al-Assad, we discussed the situation on the ground in detail today. We stated that relative calmness has been established in Syria and we need to work to consolidate this trend, " Lavrov said on Monday at a press conference following his visit to Damascus.
The Russian Foreign Minister noted that "not everyone is happy" with the stabilization of the situation in Syria, which is why a number of external players are trying to fuel separatist tendencies in the Republic and use "unilateral illegitimate measures aimed at economic suffocation of the country." "In this regard, we have clearly and unequivocally confirmed our commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Syria. We confirmed the principle that the Syrians themselves, independently, without outside interference, should decide their fate, as it is written in the [UN] Security Council resolution 2254," Lavrov added.
The Minister also stressed that Russia would consistently strive to respect and implement the right of the Syrian people to self-determination. "We will do this both in our national capacity and as part of our participation in the Troika of guarantors of the Astana format and, of course, in the context of the work of the constitutional committee that began in Geneva, "he concluded.
There is no time frame for the work of the constitutional committee of Syria and there cannot be, Lavrov said.
"There are no deadlines for the constitutional committee," he said in response to a question.
Platform for negotiations between different parties
Moscow has recommended itself as a well-established comfortable platform for negotiations between various parties from different countries and is ready to fulfill this role in the future, the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Lavrov stressed that the Russian Federation always proceeds from the inviolability of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
"The role of Moscow as such a well-established platform for holding relevant events has developed and is supported and understood not only by Syrian representatives who are not meeting in Moscow for the first time, but also by various Palestinian groups who now want to hold such a meeting in the Russian capital again. There is also a Moscow format for resolving the problems of Afghanistan. Inter-Afghan talks were held in Moscow more than once. If our partners from different countries, where certain conflicts persist, are interested in our further hospitality, we are ready for this, you are welcome," Lavrov said.
Lavrov also stressed that work with Ankara to separate the terrorists from the opposition in the Idlib de-escalation zone will be completed.
"The most important area of Russia and Turkey's efforts is the Idlib de-escalation zone, which has very clear, specific agreements, the distribution of responsibilities that provide for the separation of normal, sane opposition and terrorists, the liberation of the M-4 highway, the creation of a security corridor around this highway," he said. "All this is being done slowly, but surely. There is every reason to believe that we will complete this work."
The Syrian civil war began in 2011. Currently, the official Syrian authorities control 70-90% of the country's territory (before the start of the Russian air force operation at the request of the Syrian government in 2015-18%). In October 2019, the constitutional committee of Syria started working to develop a new basic law of the country or to amend the current Constitution of 2012.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS