Talking to Russian reporters Lavrov rejected media reports that “we are discussing or will be discussing that in some period of time Assad must step down. This is not true.”
He reiterated that this issue was not included in the negotiations with the heads of diplomacy from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the Austrian capital.
“We have confirmed our position ... betting on a particular figure is a mistake, as happened in Iraq and Libya, and we know how it ended,” said Lavrov, referring to the chaos and instability that reigns in these countries.
The Russian FM explained that the participants of the so-called 'Quartet', have agreed in Vienna on the need to resolve the conflict in Syria on the basis of the statement of Geneva from June 30, 2012.
Lavrov stressed that it is necessary “to gather the government delegation and representatives of the opposition around the negotiating table,” regardless of the contacts held since August with envoys from Damascus.
He said that the participants of the meeting made a commitment to support these efforts in the near future and stressed the Russian proposal of adding more regional players, such as Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Iran.
The Minister reported on his proposal for creating a mechanism for coordination with Jordan “to solve those issues that are preventing to effectively counter the ISIL and other terrorist organizations."
Quoted by the American agency Bloomberg, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, announced the possibility of inviting Iran to join in the conversations about Syria. According to the source, another round of negotiations could be held on October 30, but it remains to be organized.
hr/iht/mgt/oda
PL-35/MNA