LOC22:26
19:26 GMT
BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (KUNA) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Monday
voiced concern that "radical jihadist are taking the upper hand" in the camp
of those who oppose President Assad's army.
"National Coalition is losing supporters. There is a sign of a split in the
National Coalition. The Free Syrian Army is experiencing some kind of crisis.
There is a new group called Islamic Front which we would like to study deeper,
but on the surface they promote quite radical views," he told reporters after
a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
He stressed that Geneva II must be convened on the date announced by the UN
Secretary General, January 22. and noted that there will be another
preparatory meeting on 20 December in Geneva where they will discuss several
key issues.
"One is the growing threat of terrorism to Syria and the entire region.
This is task number one," he said.
"It is a very deep crisis and will require long negotiations taking into
accounts the interest of all religious, political and ethnic groups and the
inclusion of opposition groups," he stated.
"We want the opposition to be clearly represented by those who control the
situation politically and who have something to say on the ground," said
Lavrov.
He said Russia wanted to unite the opposition and has invited the National
Coalition including its leaders Ahmad Jarba to Moscow.
"The only way to get out of the mess is for the Syrians to deal with each
other without outside interference, without any recipes imposed from outside,"
Lavrov stated.
The Russian foreign minister said they also discussed Ukraine.
"It was our common agreement that every one should respect sovereignty of
any country including Ukraine and everyone should allow their peoples to make
the free choice of how they want to develop their country," he said.
The meeting also prepared for the EU-Russia summit that will take place in
Brussels in January. (end)
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KUNA 162226 Dec 13NNNN