syria-un-20171221 4

4/23/2018 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and response to a media question at a joint news conference following talks with UN Secretary… http://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/minister_speeches/-/asset_publisher/7OvQR5KJWVmR/content/id/3000048 4/5 authorities of each zone and federal authorities. This includes logistics, the delivery of humanitarian aid and measures to ensure that people can leave the zones and return home. Hopefully, the national dialogue process, in which we support the Syrian Government in order to facilitate this contacts [between the opposing parties], will, ultimately, involve the whole nation. To make this happen, Russia, with support from Iran and Turkey, has come up with an initiative to hold the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi. As I already said earlier today, we informed Staffan de Mistura and his colleagues about what is being done in this area. As to organisations and private individuals who will be invited to attend the congress, this issue will be considered in Astana tomorrow, as the three presidents agreed in Sochi on November 22. The document signed by the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran in Sochi says that the three countries will coordinate their lists of guests to the congress among themselves. We have reaffirmed that all participants in the Geneva process are invited to the Sochi congress. No doubt about this. I believe that as we move the political process forward through the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, which we see as a contribution to the Geneva talks, we will all firmly abide by our obligations specified in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 on the restoration of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Additional materials Photo