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4/24/2018 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Foreign Minist… http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2726881 2/6 Good afternoon, We have held very important talks with my colleagues, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic Walid Muallem and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif. This has helped us compare our positions in light of the latest developments concerning a settlement for Syria. This trilateral dialogue has become a good tradition. We held such a meeting in Moscow in October 2016. Today we focused on the situation created by the US air strikes at an airfield in Syria on April 7. We have reaffirmed our concerted view that it was an act of aggression perpetrated in gross violation of international law and the UN Charter. First, we insist that the United States and its allies respect the sovereignty of Syria and refrain from such acts as that which took place on April 7, which are fraught with serious consequences for regional and also global security and the foundations of international law and world order. All of us remember what happened in Iraq, Libya and other countries as well. Second, we insist that a careful, objective and unbiased investigation be held in the circumstances of the April 4 chemical attack at Khan Sheikhoun, and that this investigation is held under the auspices of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by a team that be created on a balanced foundation, including geographically. For our part, we welcomed the readiness officially expressed by the Syrian government to welcome the OPCW mission in the above format. We see resistance to the proposal for an independent and objective investigation, including at the meeting of the OPCW Executive Council held yesterday. We will not resign ourselves to these attempts and will continue to press ahead to find out the truth. We also discussed possible joint actions to prevent the escalation of tension in Syria and the attempts to derail the political process there. We are convinced that there is no alternative to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Syrian crisis through an inclusive national dialogue involving representatives from all opposition groups based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254. I would like to remind you that this resolution says that the Syrian people will decide the future of their country. We highlighted the importance of the Astana event, which has helped stimulate the Geneva process. We discussed preparations for the next meeting in Astana in early May, to be held after consultations between experts from Russia, Iran and Turkey in Tehran next week