Moscow, London work on Syria conference

Russia is ready to cooperate with the United Kingdom in organisation of an international conference on Syria and is waiting for signals from the US, where the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron went after his visit to the Russian Federation, Russia’s Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told Itar-Tass on Saturday.“We have agreed with the UK that we shall be working on the process,” he said commenting on the negotiations between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the UK prime minister on Friday. “Cameron will discuss the issue in Washington on Monday. We shall be waiting for the signals following his negotiations with /the US President Barack/ Obama,” Ushakov said adding “we have been in close contact with the Americans.” “We are ready to promote this issue jointly,” he said. “We need to agree on the place and time /for the conference/, on the attendees, and to think about possible positive solutions.” Ushakov said that during the meeting with Putin Cameron had not suggested a venue should be necessarily in London. The aide continued saying either time or place of an international conference are not priorities. “A conference or a forum, Geneva-2 or whatever. What matters is the essence.” An option of a conference was a topic of discussions with the US representatives earlier. On May 7, during the negotiations in Moscow between Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry, the idea received a support. The minister said then it would be necessary at first to receive from all sides in the conflict, including the representatives of the united Syrian opposition, confirmations of their adherence to the provisions of the Geneva Communiqu·. And later on, those confirmations should be implemented. "We admit that this requires a mutual consent of the Syrian sides and we undertake to use possibilities available with Russia and the USA to bring both the government and the opposition to the table of negotiations. In this we shall act in partnership with other foreign states concerned which must manifest commitment to assisting the Syrians themselves in finding a political solution as soon as possible within the framework of the Geneva accords. We also reaffirmed commitment to a negotiated solution and regard it as a very important means for ending the bloodshed, for overcoming the humanitarian disaster in Syria and for coordinating approaches to the problem of safety of chemical weapons and preventing a further regional destabilization. We believe that full implementation of the Geneva Communiqu· presupposes the establishment of a transitional governing agency as is provided for by the Geneva Communiqu·. We proceed from the assumption that the agency in question, in accordance with the Geneva Communiqu·, will exercise full executive power. We are confident that that will be the best and shortest way to settle the Syrian crisis," Lavrov said.