Russia drags US to negotiation table on Syria

Russia drags US to negotiation table on Syria
Fri Sep 13, 2013 18:18:52

Russia and the United States are set to meet again later this month in an effort to set a date for the long-delayed Geneva 2 peace conference on Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart, John Kerry, made the announcement on Friday during a joint press conference with UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Geneva.

“We both agreed ... to meet again in New York around the time of the UN General Assembly around the 28th [of September] in order to see if it is possible then to find a date for that conference,” Kerry said.

US and Russian officials are expected to meet in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

The recent announcement was made ahead of the second day of Moscow-Washington negotiations in Geneva regarding the recent Russian proposal that Syria’s chemical arms be placed under international supervision.

The meeting was held at the invitation of Brahimi. The three sides discussed the latest developments in Syria and described the talks as constructive.

US was strongly criticized by Russia for undermining the Geneva 2 peace conference on Syria by rushing for a military strike on the Arab country based on conflicting reports of an alleged chemical attack on August 21.

The US had also failed to bring the opposition side to the negotiating table before its plans to bomb Syria, as it had pledged to do so while Moscow was responsible to talk with the Syrian government to cooperate for holding the conference.

The Syrian government has repeatedly announced that it is ready to participate without any preconditions.

SHI/SHI

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