MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2021) Russia awaits clarification from UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen regarding his proposal to expand the international format to achieve a settlement of the conflict in the middle Eastern nation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
On Monday, Pedersen called for the establishment of a new international format to settle the longstanding conflict in Syria. The UN envoy, in particular, said that it should include the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Arab League states, the European Union and the remaining permanent members of the UN Security Council.
"We have been asking Pedersen for a long time now, if he is serious about this approach [to expand the composition of the mediators], to put it on paper in a more conceptual way," Lavrov told reporters, adding that the UN envoy has so far provided only an outline of the proposal, including the list of countries.
The minister reiterated Moscow's readiness to participate in any format to look for ways to create external conditions that would allow the Syrians themselves to determine their own fate.
"The only framework that works for us is one that clearly reproduces the commitment of [UN Security Council] Resolution 2254," the minister added.
Among international efforts to solve the Syrian conflict is the so-called Astana format launched by Russia, Turkey and Iran in 2017 so that all conflicting sides can negotiate a peaceful settlement. Another international format is the UN-brokered talks Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva. The 150-member body, with equal representation of the government, opposition and civil society, was launched on October 30, 2019, to work toward drafting a new constitution.
