New Syrian Constitution by August: Push for Political Solution at Moscow Talks
Local Editor
Russia's Sergei Lavrov and the US' John Kerry agreed to push for a political transition in Syria by having a new draft constitution ready by August. The Kremlin-hosted talks revealed a softer, more cooperative tone on Syria, as well as Ukraine.
The discussions lasted over four hours and involved Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and US Ambassador to Russia John F. Tefft.
"We agreed on a target schedule for establishing a framework for a political transition [in Syria] and also a draft constitution, both of which we targeted by August," Kerry told journalists at a joint news conference with Lavrov following the meeting.
Lavrov also said that both parties had agreed to use their influence to push the Syrian government to engage in "direct talks" with the opposition in order to accelerate discussions on a political transition that could help end Syria's war.
"As the immediate task, we have agreed to push for the soonest start of direct talks between the government delegations and the whole spectrum of the opposition" that will help to create "a transitional governance structure" for Syria, Lavrov said.
The Russian FM pointed out that there are still a number of issues that Moscow and Washington don't agree on, but maintained that this would not prevent them from cooperating "on an equal footing" on the problems on which they have found common ground.
"The US has plenty of partners who do not agree with them... It does not mean that the differences on one particular issue should stop them from talking at all," Lavrov said.
At the start of the talks, Kerry told Lavrov that the partial truce in Syria was working and reducing the level of violence in the country. "It's fair to say three weeks ago there were very, very few people who believed a cessation of hostilities was possible in Syria," Kerry said. "The result of that work has produced some progress. There has been a fragile nevertheless beneficial reduction in violence."
The tone of Russia-US relations appeared softer than it has been for some time on many issues, including Syria and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, as both parties demonstrated an apparent desire to improve bilateral relations.
When it came to Ukraine, both sides agreed that the Minsk Accords must be fully implemented.
"We have indeed pledged to ensure that Donbass, that the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk [DPR and LPR], implement what they and their representatives signed under in Minsk," Lavrov said, while calling on his US counterpart to ensure that similar pressure is put on Kiev.
Kerry reiterated that once the agreement is "fully implemented," the US will be ready to roll back sanctions on Russia.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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