Participants of the international meeting on Syria in the Astana format in Sochi will consider the harmfulness of the unilateral sanctions of the US and Western countries against the republic, Alexander Lavrentyev, the Russian President's Special Representative for Syria, told reporters on Tuesday.
"During the meeting, we intend to consider the detrimental nature of unilateral repressive harsh sanctions measures by the United States and Western states," he said.
Lavrentyev noted that Syria is currently in strong political and economic isolation, which narrows the space for organizing an equal business negotiation process with the Syrian government.
"In no way can we allow the collective punishment of the Syrian people, including the part that supports the current legitimate Syrian authorities, to continue," he stressed.
Negotiations in the Astana format will take place over two days. There will be bilateral and trilateral consultations on February 16 and a plenary session on February 17.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS