MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has welcomed the readiness of leaders of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces to negotiate with other Syrian opposition groups in Moscow.
"We have received their response to the invitation, which says the coalition will be there and that the invitation will be accepted," he told a Tuesday press conference in Moscow.
National Coalition leader Ahmad Jarba said he had other commitments to honor at the time of the Moscow meeting but he "assumed that there would be other opportunities to hold contacts on this level," the minister said.
"Anyway, we regard the coalition's consent to attend the aforementioned consultations in Moscow as a positive step," Lavrov emphasized.
The consultations will be organized "in the context of our effort to help the opposition and to help the U.S. persuade the opposition to elaborate a constructive platform without preconditions," the minister explained.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has met with National Coalition members in Istanbul. "The opposition is showing signs of a more realistic approach," Lavrov stated.