Moscow, 24 February 2022 (TDI): Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, held talks with UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, amid the Ukraine crisis. The meeting was held in Moscow on February 23.
During the talk, the Russian Foreign Minister welcomed Geir Pedersen and his team on this official visit. He further said that Russian Federation regards his regular visits as highly useful.
Nevertheless, Russian Federation is interested in the early settlement of the Syrian crisis by UN SC resolutions. Further, the Russian Foreign Minister stated that he regards the contacts of the UN Special Envoy with different stakeholders of the region.
Lavrov also mentioned that he regards his visits to Damascus and other capitals of the states. This is highly valuable to achieve progress and pursue peace in the region.
Along these lines, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized the context of cooperation due to which this meeting is arranged. He then added that Russia will collaborate for the practical advances of the Syrian settlement.
In addition to that, Sergey Lavrov pointed out that there are certain forces in the world whose sole aim is to instigate the conflict to disadvantage the Russian position in Syria.
Role of UN Secretary-General amid Russia Ukraine Crisis
Regrettably, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutierrez, has succumbed to the pressure of the West. In this regard, he has made statements that hurt his status and power under the UN Charter.
He then highlighted that he has analyzed the statistics, dossiers, and past files of the previous conflicts and crises of the world. There, he found out that neither Antonio nor his predecessors took the liberty to make unbiased statements about any state.
Role of Russian Permanent Representative to UN
In the same vein, the Russian Foreign Minister stated that he has instructed the Russian Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Vasily Nebenzya.
In this regard, Vasily Nebenzya will communicate with Antonio Guterres and will also present a Russian assessment of his statements.
However, the Russian Foreign Minister also advised UN Special Envoy to Syria to communicate the Russian stance regarding his statements, if there is a possibility or opportunity come forth.
Similarly, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that the UN Secretary-General must provide an impartial assessment of the events.
It is also his responsibility to favor a direct dialogue between parties of the conflict. But, this is not happening in the case of the Ukraine conflict.
UNSC Resolution 2202 and Minsk Protocol
Unfortunately, the Secretary-General has never raised concern in support of the Minsk agreement and UNSC Resolution 2202.
These documents are vital to coordinate peace in Lugansk, Donetsk, and Kyiv. The western side never mentioned this aspect and Secretary-General followed the example.
The course of the Syrian Crisis
Subsequently, the Russian Foreign Minister also talked about the Syrian Crisis. He valued inter-Syrian contacts as well as contacts with all involved stakeholders of the Syrian Arab Republic.
He then suggested cooperating with the outside players as well to achieve the implementation status of Resolution 2254 and other decisions of the UNSC.
