Staffan de Mistura: Moscow's influence on Damascus should be used

UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in an interview with the Independent daily that the global community should listen more closely to Russia on the crisis in Syria, if it wants to end the conflict.

"The UN’ special peace envoy to Syria said it was time for the world to listen more closely to Russia on the four-year-long crisis that has cost more than 210,000 lives and fueled an unprecedented growth of Islamist extremism that has spread across the Middle East," TASS cited the article.

"Russia has influence on Damascus, and it’s very important that they get involved," the newspaper cited de Mistura as saying. "The two countries’ relationship goes back to the time when Bashar al-Assad’s father was in power. Therefore the Russians do have a knowledge of the system and the way they think".

According to the diplomat, "Russia is only a small part of the wider solution, it is seeking." At the same time he is convinced that "anything capable of breaking the stalemate in Syria should be tried".

Last week, the second round of inter-Syrian consultations took place in Moscow.