Russia checks reports on new opposition structure in Syria

     Moscow is verifying reports that the opposition in Syria plans to establish a new alliance, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "The information has come and we are double checking it," Lavrov said, referring to reports that some sponsors of the opposition have started building a new structure made up of the groups that have formed the Syrian National Council (SNC). According to Lavrov, the objective of the initiators was to replace the "outside" opposition coalition, the SNC, thus derailing the negotiation process underway in Geneva and returning to a military scenario to solve the three-year conflict. He said the attempt to form a new structure could be in anticipation of military support from outside Syria. Lavrov added that the United States should work directly with the Syrian government instead of asking Russia to impose pressure on Damascus. Noting that Moscow has been in contact with Damascus "nearly daily," Lavrov said the majority of the problems in Syria came not from the government, but from the terrorist and extremist groups. The second round of the Geneva II peace conference ended with no tangible results to break the political impasse in Syria. The Syrian government wanted to prioritize fighting terrorism while the SNC focused on the creation of a transitional governing body. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday blamed the Syrian government's "obstruction" for the slow progress of the talks while praising the opposition for their "willingness to discuss all aspects of the conflict."