Russia calls on Syrian government and opposition to work together

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov calls for Syrian government and opposition to work together against extremists in the country during a meeting with Syrian Deputy PM Qadri Jamil in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a new call on July 22 for the Syrian government and opposition to work together to expel all “terrorists and extremists from Syria,” while discussing extending a loan to Damascus to help its war-battered economy.

At the start of talks with Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamil, Lavrov said the goal agreed at a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) major economies last month to expel the “terrorists and extremists” should “become one of the main points of the proposed international [peace] conference.”

“To our regret, unlike the government of Syria, a significant part of the opposition, including the National Coalition, has not expressed such readiness yet,” he said, referring to a largely exiled opposition group.