Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks at talks with UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura, Moscow October 13, 2015

Mr Staffan de Mistura,

Friends,

We appreciate this opportunity to continue our consultations on issues related to the implementation of your important mandate. We are at a critical stage in our efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis. Our position has been definitively and repeatedly spelled out by President Vladimir Putin over the past several weeks, including in his speech at the UN and his contacts with many heads of state and government representatives from countries neighbouring Syria.

We are confident that the main task today is to consolidate efforts in the fight against terrorist groups: the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and others. We urge all those who are in one way or another involved in the events in Syria to pool their efforts and coordinate their actions to prevent terrorists from getting the upper hand.

We are concerned about the attempts of some of our colleagues to drag out the formation of a united antiterrorist front, including, much to our regret, by speculating on your political mandate, Mr de Mistura. We are confident that the earliest possible launch of the political process in keeping with the general line formulated by your office responds to the objectives of consolidating all world forces in the interest of saving Syria. Unfortunately, more and more preconditions are being made during this process. First, they said that the only possible representative should be the so-called National Coalition. Then they agreed that it is essential, at such talks, to ensure a truly representative character of opposition forces. Now that a consensus seems to be emerging on this issue, they started talking to the effect that the Russian military operation being carried out at the request and with the consent of the Syrian government is impeding the political process. I am sure that the contrived nature of this reasoning is obvious to objective observers. We have repeatedly stressed that our efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the fight against terrorists in the Syrian Arab Republic in response to a request from the Syrian government does not imply the need to consign the political process to oblivion. On the contrary, we note the growing relevance of supporting your efforts. So I very much hope to hear firsthand assessments from you as to the present status of your efforts and how Russia could help to ensure that the Geneva Communique, approved by a UN Security Council resolution, is put into practice. In keeping with the Geneva Communique, a key to success is to ensure the absolutely inclusive character of the political process and move towards conciliation among all the Syrians.

Thank you again and welcome.

Added after S.de Mistura words:

I fully agree that there is no military solution to the conflict, but fighting terrorists is something else. And this does not have any national boundaries, it doesn't have any preconditions. I believe we all must unite against terror, as the Security Council resolution calls for.    

But we'll discuss the political process, which cannot be resolved militarily, I fully agree with this.