International contact group on Syria may hold talks in October

An international contact group on the Syrian crisis with Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, and Egypt may meet in October, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Monday.

“Four intra-Syrian groups should be formed in Geneva and a meeting of the contract group from the most influential foreign players should be moved to October after the UN General Assembly session I believe,” Bogdanov told RIA Novosti.

Bogdanov said that a meeting needs to be held as soon as possible though the level of the meeting has not yet been determined.

“We have named the participants as being Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt. Others may also be invited,” Bogdanov added.

Deputy foreign minister also said that a new round of intra-Syrian talks may be held in Moscow by the end of the year.

“[A meeting] is possible, of course. It’s so far too early to speak of concrete dates because we’re not doing this for ourselves, but for the Syrians. If the Syrians have a desire to talk in Moscow, then we are always ready to give them a venue for such meetings,” Bogdanov told RIA Novosti.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since a 2011 political collapse. Government forces have been fighting on multiple fronts against opposition forces and numerous extremist militant groups.

In 2015, Moscow took the initiative to host two rounds of intra-Syria talks.

In July, Moscow expressed its willingness to host the third round of the peace talks. The date of the new round of consultations has not yet been determined.

Source: MENA