Syrian negotiations should be truly representative: Russia

Russia said Saturday that all parties should work to ensure that the Syrian peace talks turn truly representative and reflect the whole spectrum of Syrian society.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia welcomed the "modest but important" result of the recent talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva, and hoped the result would be deepened and extended in the next round, Xinhua reported.

Stating that Russia could do nothing alone to resolve the Syrian crisis, the minister said all external actors should be involved in the process and insist on parties staying at the negotiating table and not slamming the door.

During this process, one should not promote the parties they support as the only legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, Lavrov said.

Instead, they should do their best to make sure delegations at the negotiating table represented the whole spectrum of Syrian society, he added.

"This is the key to success," he said, adding Russia was in daily contact with the Syrian government and opposition groups, and head of National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Ahmad Jarba would visit Moscow next week.

"I urge my European colleagues to do the same," Lavrov added.