A regular meeting on the Syrian issue has ended in Vienna. It lasted more than five hours. At the previous ‘Vienna meeting’ it was stated that the countries involved in the negotiating process on the settlement of the Syrian issue should agree on a common list of terrorist organizations and discuss options for a political solution to the conflict.
At a joint press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, the Russian minister said that what happened in Paris, the series of the terrorist attacks, should convince everyone that terrorism cannot be justified by anything. "For me it is absolutely clear that yesterday's horrors in Paris should convince the last skeptics that not only can terrorism not be justified by anything, but our passivity also cannot be justified by anything in the fight against this evil," he said.
The Russian Foreign Minister also said that following Saturday's bilateral meetings he had the impression that the awareness of the need to establish that the most effective, comprehensive international coalition in the fight against Islamic State and other terrorist organizations mentioned by Russian president Vladimir Putin is getting stronger and stronger. Lavrov reiterated Russia's position that it is ready to coordinate its actions with the international coalition led by the United States.
"The Americans have questions about the way we conduct our operation, we have questions about how the coalition behaves in the fight against terror. We have repeatedly invited them to a particular conversation, with specific cards for specific purposes, marked on these maps, asked our colleagues to express concerns and to explain what we are doing wrong," Lavrov said.
The Russian minister added that the list of terrorist organizations should be finally approved at the next negotiations.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that, compared to last week, now the participants of the Vienna meeting progressed further in resolving the Syrian conflict. "Despite the fact that we still have a lot of work, we have made significant progress. Together, our countries have reached a common understanding, and we have come much further than we were a week ago," he said.
Thus, among the most significant achievements of the five-hour talks was the decision to seek a ceasefire from the fighting sides. "Each party that supports or influences or supplies anyone on the battlefield should try to achieve a ceasefire. It is also agreed that we will put pressure on the parties, so they reject weapons," Kerry said.
A monitoring mission under the auspices of the United Nations will be created to ensure this agreement, the mandate of which will be approved by a resolution of the Security Council of the world organization. It is reported that the five permanent Security Council members – Russia, China, Britain, the United States and France – have pledged to support such a resolution, where this position will be reflected.
In a joint statement adopted at the Vienna meeting it was also agreed that. once again, the negotiators on Syria will meet in a month and discuss progress towards a ceasefire and the start of a political process in the country.
The chief European diplomat, Federica Mogherini, evaluated the finished Vienna meeting as ‘good’, stating that ‘a political process can be started’. She did not give any detailed information, adding that the results of the negotiations will be discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the EU Council on Monday.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier detailed the words of Mogherini, saying that "by the end of the year, by January 1st, the first talks between the authorities and the opposition must take place,’’ but in general, the coordinated action plan stipulates that the first elections in Syria must take place within 18 months.
"It may seem utopian, but today all the partners that have influence on the parties of the conflict were at the table," Steinmeier said.
