MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The main efforts towards the settlement of the Syrian conflict will begin on January 24 with the launch of negotiations between the conflicting sides with the mediation of UN/LAS envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Montreux on Tuesday to confer on issues related to the international peace conference for Syria, which begins on January 22, the ministry said.
"The sides expressed a common opinion that the convocation of the conference was an important event. They stressed also that the main work would start on January 24 with the launch of negotiations between the conflicting sides with the mediation of L. Brahimi. Within the framework of this process, the Syrians are bound to make independent decisions regarding fundamental issues of the future of their state," the ministry said in a report posted on Wednesday.