Syrian peace process to be prolonged: Russian minister

Moscow, Jan 28 (IANS/TASS) The peace process in Syria will be protracted and knotty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday at a meeting with participants in the inter-Syrian consultations in Moscow.

"Russia's efforts to assist the Syrian peace settlement are absolutely transparent," he said.

"We're all open to collaboration on the basis of principles of the UN Charter with anyone interested in offering genuine support to the efforts that may bring about the start of peace settlement," he said.

"The process will be protracted and knotty and will demand more efforts to shape up a really representative dialogue format."

Lavrov said that the participants in Moscow discussions have tried to "proceed from the importance of fixing the approaches that unite them -- Syria's unity, sovereignty and independence, the secular character of statehood -- and to go over gradually to the options of a platform of national unity".

"Quite naturally, this requires complicated talks on coordinating agreements on the practical measures that will help build up trust among the Syrian government, political opposition and civic society, broaden and improve the practice of local reconciliations, lift obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population, settle the status of militants who lay down arms, and to free the arrested persons uninvolved in crimes related to terrorism," Lavrov said.

--IANS/TASS

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