Russia urges regrouped Syrian opposition to start dialogue with gov't

The unification of the Syrian opposition would be helpful if it could lead to political dialogue with the government, a senior Russian diplomat said Monday. "Unification of the Syrian opposition may be useful if the opposition starts a political dialogue with the government, as it is envisaged by the Geneva agreement," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in an online message. His remarks came a day after the Syrian opposition gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha and announced the formation of a new national coalition to better synergize the strength of different factions. The coalition would deal with political, diplomatic and economic affairs and also have a common military command, Mahmoud al-Hamza, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, told Interfax news agency on Monday. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Moscow would continue its contact with both the Syrian government and the opposition. Moscow also urges both sides to exercise a constructive approach to the political solution outlined in the Geneva communique reached late June by a action group of world powers, he said. "Our priority task is to stop bloodshed, to save human lives, to launch a transitional political process in Syria," Lukashevich said.