MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Russia will support sending international observers to Syria or other formats of international presence, but on condition of ceasefire, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Peace is the precondition of peacekeeping, and a truce is the only way to deploy monitors," he said at a Saturday press conference following negotiations with UN/LAS Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.
"When it becomes possible to speak about ceasefire, and I hope we can reach this phase, we will certainly back international presence, most likely, the deployment of a large group of monitors although we will be prepared for other options acceptable to parties to the conflict," the minister stressed.
Deployment of peacekeepers in Syria is possible only with consent of all parties to the conflict, Lavrov said.
He recalled an earlier international observation mission to Syria, which was halted.
That was a big mistake, Lavrov said.
"Unfortunately, both missions (of the LAS and the UN) were halted, and, we are confident that was done for purely subjective reasons," the Russian foreign minister said.