ROME. Nov 25 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he confirmed the date for holding the Geneva II international conference on Syrian conflict settlement.
"As of an hour ago, the date of the supposed conference did not exist, and now this emerged, it is January 22," Lavrov said at a news conference in Rome.
The date has been proposed by the UN Secretary General and "this could have been done much earlier if the opposition felt any responsibility for its country and did not give preliminary conditions when we gathered in September, October, November…," Lavrov said.
"…And each time, there were conditions: either [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad should disappear or we should restore complete military predominance," the minister said.
According to Lavrov, "not caring about the destiny of your country is political selfishness."
The parties of the conflict "should sit and negotiate," Lavrov said.