UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has emphasized the necessity of Russia's participation in resolving the crisis in Syria, alongside Turkey, the United States, and Iran.
"The problems in this direction have not been solved. And the actions of the parties have caused the problems to worsen. Don't tell Washington, but its policies have provoked the problems as well. To resolve the crisis, we need the participation of the US, Turkey, Iran. And, of course, we need Russia for this," Pedersen stated during a discussion on Syria at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
However, Pedersen noted a significant obstacle to a Syrian settlement: "there are no contacts between the US and Russia after the conflict in Ukraine," which he described as a serious hindrance.
"The parties have decided to deal with the Palestinian crisis. But we should not think that the Syrian crisis in its current state without a settlement cannot intensify again in the future. This issue should be dealt with now. You don't need a new crisis," Pedersen warned, underscoring the urgency of addressing the Syrian conflict.
He also called on the Syrian opposition and the authorities in Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad, to focus on achieving peace rather than winning the war. Pedersen's comments were in response to the words of the head of the Syrian opposition coalition, Badr Jamous, who expressed concern that the opposition inside Syria now has no interlocutor with whom to discuss a political settlement.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS