Russian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault have agreed to cooperate in preparing the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
“The ministers have agreed that Russian and French representatives will be cooperating to prepare and hold a next round of intra-Syrian talks, due to begin in Geneva on March 23, 2017,” the ministry said in a statement.
During the phone talk, Lavrov noted that absence of some armed opposition groups from the recent meeting manifested certain countries’ continuing attempts to hamper a peace resolution in Syria. At the same time, the Russian foreign minister expressed his satisfaction with the negotiations in Astana, according to ITAR-TASS news agency.
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