Syria calls for further details on US-Russian initiative

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called for further details on the U.S. and Russian- brokered peace conference before deciding whether to take part in it, state-run SANA news agency reported Tuesday. In an interview with Lebanese al-Manar TV carried by SANA, the Syrian minister said his country will not be part of any action nor partake in any meeting that would harm the national sovereignty. "We are in need to know whether the U.S.-Russian understanding is as important as the political solution, its necessity as a choice that applies to everyone and whether it is really a sole choice for the Americans and their allies in secret and in public, " he said. He stressed that the Syrian government welcomed the outcomes of the meeting held between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his U.S. Counterpart John Kerry last week. "The Syrian government expressed optimism but it is a cautious optimism since words are not enough; rather, there should be tangible steps," he said. Al-Zoubi noted that his country's political stance is "clear and axiomatic" toward backing the political solution to the Syrian crisis and supporting the international positive efforts. Last week, Lavrov and Kerry held talks in Moscow and agreed to push for the implementation of the Geneva communique, which the Syrian government has agreed upon before. The two diplomats announced that they would call for an international conference that would gather representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups.