Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu’s meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura

On December 21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu met with the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

Views were exchanged on all aspects of the Syrian conflict as part of active and regular contacts. Special attention was given to a general analysis of the situation in Syria in the context of the successful elimination of the wide-ranging terrorist threat in that country, which lays the groundwork for advancing a political settlement.

The results of the eighth round of intra-Syrian consultations in Geneva, which ended on December 14, as well as the upcoming international meeting on Syria in Astana, were considered. The Russian side stressed that the upcoming Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi is designed to bring together the widest spectrum of representatives of Syrian society to address the pressing issues of constitutional reform and prepare elections in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Confidence was expressed that this initiative, which is completely in sync with UN efforts to achieve a comprehensive, inclusive settlement, will be supported by the UN Secretary General’s special envoy.