“We will firmly insist that the UN Security Council resolution on political settlement principles be fulfilled in the interests of Syria’s preservation as a single, territorially integral, sovereign and secular state,” Lavrov said in his opening remarks at an Orthodox Easter reception.
“Obviously, it will not be possible to ensure reliable protection of the Christian population in the [Middle East] region and to achieve lasting stabilization in general without the efficient suppression of terrorist and extremist threats and the resolution of numerous crises by political and diplomatic means, through national dialogue involving all ethnic and national groups,” the minister said.
“This is the goal of Russia’s efforts supporting the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the anti-terrorist fight, creating conditions for the cessation of hostilities between the Syrian army and the opposition, and rendering humanitarian aid,” he said.
