Russia Will Continue Peace Efforts In Syria - Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) Moscow will keep seeking a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

"We [Russia], as a member of the [UN] Security Council, as part of the Astana format, certainly would like to continue our contribution, our input [to conflict resolution in Syria]," Lavrov said at a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen in Moscow.

The diplomat further mentioned the recent two-day consultations on Syria in Nur-Sultan, which were attended by Pedersen. Lavrov also expressed hope that the Syrian Constitutional Committee would reconvene soon.

The war in Syria, which erupted as part of the wave of Arab Spring protests, has been ongoing for a decade now. What started as protests demanding reforms later turned into a full-scale war between the government and opposition armed groups, as well as the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia).

Numerous international forces have also taken sides in the conflict by aligning with one group or another.

In an effort to settle the conflict, Russia, Turkey, and Iran launched the so-called Astana talks in 2017, so that the government and opposition could negotiate a peaceful solution. Another international format is the UN-brokered talks of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva. The 150-member body, with equal representation of the government, opposition, and civil society, was launched on October 30, 2019, to work toward drafting a new constitution.

Its latest session took place in January and was described by Pedersen as disappointing, since the sides failed to reach an agreement on the procedure for negotiations within the small drafting body.