Russian FM urges resumption of intra-Syrian talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday urged the resumption of intra-Syrian talks to broker a political end to the five-year Syrian crisis.

Russia is concerned over the slowdown of the political settlement process in Syria, Lavrov said after meeting with his visiting Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh.

"In this regard, a new round of talks should begin as soon as possible," Lavrov said in a released Foreign Ministry transcript.

"With all the importance of the tasks of ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid, a decisive role in the settlement (of the Syrian crisis) should be played by political negotiations ... in the form of an inclusive dialogue without preliminary conditions and interference from outside," he said.

Lavrov also noted the necessity of cutting off the arms smuggling and illegal infiltration of militants into Syria through the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, the minister called on the United States to take joint actions against all forces, no matter terrorist or opposition groups, that have not joined the ceasefire regime imposed in February and excluding terrorist groups like the Islamic State.

There is more than enough time for any armed group to decide whether to join the ceasefire or not, Lavrov said, warning that further waiting would be counterproductive in terms of anti-terrorism missions.

The last round of intra-Syrian talks that ended in April made little progress, while United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said at the end of May that no negotiations will happen in the next two to three weeks. Endi