MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is considering holding peace talks on the Syrian conflict in Moscow, as plans for a US-Russia-backed Geneva-2 conference remain stalled, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday after a meeting with his Syrian counterpart.
Lavrov said the main obstacle to the Geneva-2 summit – intended to bring the Syrian government and rebel forces to the negotiating table – was reluctance to participate by the internationally recognized representatives of the insurgents, the Syrian National Coalition.
But Russia has been working to establish contacts with all Syrian rebel groups and will continue to do so, trying to convince them of the “lack of alternatives to a peaceful conference,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
“If in the course of such contacts we see that this could help matters, then we do not rule out inviting to Moscow all those interested in peace in Syria, all those interested in a political solution, those who reject a military scenario, including, of course, [military] intervention,” Lavrov said.
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