Sergei Lavrov and Kerry discuss the current situation in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed here with his US counterpart John Kerry the current situation in Syria. The Russian foreign ministry said the two ministers discussed over a phone conversation held last night also discussed issues related to realizing a peaceful settlement in the Middle East . The Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama had recently assigned their two respective foreign ministers to continue intensive contacts aimed at the development of possible new initiatives aimed at finding a political settlement to the Syrian crisis and other bilateral issues including the adoption of Russian children by US families. Meanwhile Sergei Lavrov said,” Only Syrians will decide the future of President Bashar Al-Assad and we won’t tell him to leave….. Russia will not pressure Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down, Lavrov told the BBC during an interview on Friday. “Russia is not in the regime-change game, and there is absolutely no chance of Moscow telling Al-Assad to stand down”, he said. Lavrov stated that Moscow is against “interference in domestic conflicts,” pointing out that Al-Assad himself has no intention of resigning. “I can only say it is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the Syrians to decide”, Lavrov reiterated. Russia and China, Al-Assad’s staunchest international allies, vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions last year threatening sanctions against the Syrian regime. The latest Russia-China veto deepened an acrimonious battle at the Security Council over who is to blame for the world powers’ failure to get international action to halt the two-year Syrian conflict. Lavrov said in December that Russia was pressing the Syrian leadership to act on previous pledges for dialogue with the opposition.