Moscow believes it is premature to convene a ministerial meeting on Syria in New York on December 18, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Tuesday, according to TASS.

"We have not changed and are not going to change it," Zakharova said, adding that Moscow plans to maintain its position including as part of the ISSG format which is "the best possible and promising."

But the effort should be based on certain rules: first sticking to a consensus during the decision-making process. "For this, first of all, all the participants of the Vienna format without exception should be present at the Group’s meetings. Second, the adopted decisions should be implemented."

This concerns agreeing on the list of the terrorist groups currently operating in Syria and setting up a negotiating platform involving a broad spectrum of Syrian opposition members and forming a representative delegation for talks with the Syrian government as demanded by the June 30, 2012 Geneva Communique.

Sources: MENA