Russian FM says dialogue is the only solution for Syrian conflict

The only way to end the ongoing violence in Syria lies in dialogue, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the UN-Arab League joint envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi agreed in a phone conservation that “only an equal dialogue without any preconditions between Syrian sides would stop violence and launch a substantive discussion about the country’s future.”

On Friday, during a “2+2” meeting in Washington, the U.S. and Russian foreign and defense ministers agreed to host a peace conference on Syria in Geneva as soon as possible.

They also agreed on follow-up discussions over ways to help reduce the growing humanitarian crisis ensuing from Syria’s conflict.

Last week, in the wake of renewed deadly terror attacks in Syria, Moscow accused the rebels of “taking out on vulnerable civilians” for their inferior military position.