Lavrov: National coalition in Syria losing supporters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Monday voiced concern that "radical jihadist are taking the upper hand" in the camp of those who oppose President Assad's army. "National Coalition is losing supporters. There is a sign of a split in the National Coalition. The Free Syrian Army is experiencing some kind of crisis. There is a new group called Islamic Front which we would like to study deeper, but on the surface they promote quite radical views," he told reporters after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He stressed that Geneva II must be convened on the date announced by the UN Secretary General, January 22. and noted that there will be another preparatory meeting on 20 December in Geneva where they will discuss several key issues. "One is the growing threat of terrorism to Syria and the entire region. This is task number one," he said. "It is a very deep crisis and will require long negotiations taking into accounts the interest of all religious, political and ethnic groups and the inclusion of opposition groups," he stated. "We want the opposition to be clearly represented by those who control the situation politically and who have something to say on the ground," said Lavrov. He said Russia wanted to unite the opposition and has invited the National Coalition including its leaders Ahmad Jarba to Moscow. "The only way to get out of the mess is for the Syrians to deal with each other without outside interference, without any recipes imposed from outside," Lavrov stated. The Russian foreign minister said they also discussed Ukraine. "It was our common agreement that every one should respect sovereignty of any country including Ukraine and everyone should allow their peoples to make the free choice of how they want to develop their country," he said. The meeting also prepared for the EU-Russia summit that will take place in Brussels in January.