Gatilov: West must force Syrian opposition to become involved in efforts to resolve crisis

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stressed the need for Russia's western partners to force the Syrian opposition to become involved in the efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria, particularly since the Syrian government officially announced its participation in the upcoming international conference on Syria. In an interview published by ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday, Gatilov said that the ball is now in the court of Russia's partners, and that they are expected to work actively to convince the opposition to enter negotiations. He added that Moscow is working to convince the Syrian authorities to adopt a serious position regarding participation in the international conference, but Russia doesn't intend to pressure the Syrian government to enter any negotiations if their results are predetermined. Gatilov noted that the Syrian opposition has yet to announce who will represent it in the international conference, on the contrary; they say they will not go to the conference until they receive weapons and achieve military superiority, adding that there's no information about what base they will adopt in negotiations.