Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Moscow, SANA-Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States is gradually starting to accept Russia’s position on the situation in Syria.
“I think the Americans have become more susceptible to the arguments we have used in our work for several years,” Lavrov was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Commenting on statements made by his U.S. counterpart John Kerry on Tuesday about Washington’s readiness to cooperate with Russia on Syria, Lavrov said there are growing chances for that cooperation to materialize.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter expressed a “positive outlook” about cooperation on the situation in Syria and fighting terrorism following a phone call they made to discuss the issue.
A striking shift has occurred recently as Kerry and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius backed down on earlier conditions they articulated for any inter-Syrian dialogue to take place. This change came in the wake of Russia’s announcement of a clear counter-terrorism strategy that brings onboard the countries most affected by it, particularly Syria.
Russia: US can obtain all data needed on Damascus-Moscow cooperation
A source at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US can obtain all data on the cooperation between Russia and Syria through the standing communication channels between the Russian and U.S. ministries of defense.
In an interview with Novosti Agency on Wednesday, the source highlighted that a communication channel had been established and Washington can get the answers to all questions via this channel.
Moscow: The US should withdraw signature to Geneva communique if it wants regime change in Syria
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the US can not call for a regime change in Syria if it was truly committed to Geneva communique of June 30, 2012.
In a statement on Wednesday, Zakharova said the United States should withdraw its signature to the Geneva communiqué if Washington does not agree that the Syrian people themselves should decide their future.
“If they have not recalled their signature and state their commitment to the document, then there can be no modeling of scenarios for the development of the situation and its practical implementation. Otherwise, the US is deceiving everybody,” Zakharova added.
“The Geneva communique says that political future of Syria must be determined by the Syrian people themselves,” she said.
“Then, probably, the US should state that it is retracting the signature to the Geneva communique. Then we will be able to understand what their next move will be,” she added.
On the other hand, a Russian diplomatic source told journalists that Moscow is optimistic towards the possibility of unifying international efforts for combating ISIS and for solving the crisis in Syria, warning that failing to unify efforts in this domain would risk a real catastrophe.
R.J/H. Said/Manal
