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Russia, U.S. call for soonest restart of Syrian talks

Xinhua, February 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart John Kerry on Thursday during a phone call agreed to resume Syrian talks in Geneva as soon as possible.

"While expressing common regret over the fact that the UN-brokered intra-Syrian dialogue has been temporarily suspended, Lavrov and Kerry agreed to make necessary efforts to ensure that this pause is as short as possible," said an online statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The two diplomats confirmed their participation of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting on Feb. 11 in Munich, Germany.

"(The meeting) is suggested to review all aspects of the Syrian settlement in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the ministry said.

During the conversation, Lavrov expressed concern with unacceptable preconditions set by certain Syrian opposition members over the establishment of a sustainable negotiation process with the Syrian government.

Both sides urged all Syrian parties to take measures to ensure humanitarian access under United Nations auspices to besieged Syrian regions by government forces and opposition groups.

"Lavrov and Kerry agreed on possible coordinated actions on delivering humanitarian aid to certain areas of Syria by air with the use of means of military-transport aviation," said the statement.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Wednesday announced "a pause" of the intra-Syrian peace talks, saying that the talks are to resume in Geneva on Feb. 25.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Lavrov and Kerry would continue their discussion on international and regional key issues during their meeting at Munich Security Conference on Feb. 12-14.

The topics would mainly cover anti-terrorism fight, Ukrainian conflict, Syrian developments, as well as security situation and migration crisis in Europe.

Zakharova also warned of politicization of humanitarian issues in Syria.

Certain conflicting sides could use the issues as tools to strengthen themselves, while terrorists could use the aid in their own interests, Zakharova said. Endit