Lavrov confirms that Russia is in contact with Syrian opposition
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Russia is in talks with the Syrian opposition and that they are being facilitated by Turkey, Interfax reported.
“We have never avoided contacts with any political opposition group, and contacts with field commanders. And since our Turkish partners have contacts with the opposition groups including the field commanders, we, of course, exchange the information about the sentiments among these groups and we encourage them to become a part of the solution in the framework of what was said at the UN Security Council and the International Syrian Support group,” Lavrov said at a joint conference with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, in Alanya, Turkey.
He added that “for obvious reasons we will not go into detail about this work, but it is being conducted professionally and it will continue”. On Thursday, the Financial Times, citing unnamed representatives of the Syrian opposition, reported that the representatives of the Syrian opposition are conducting negotiations with Russia on the possibility of ceasefire in Aleppo.
“The main point being discussed at the negotiations is the end of the confrontation in Aleppo,” a source told the Financial Times. It was reported that the negotiations are taking place in Ankara and are facilitated by Turkey. The FT sources stated that the US does not take part in the negotiations and has “no input in them”. It was not specified what officials are taking part in these talks.