MONTREUX, Switzerland. Jan 22 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has mentioned the prominent part U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry personally played in preparations for the Geneva II international peace conference for Syria.
"Since we have been maintaining closest contacts with the U.S. Secretary of State throughout this period, I know well how much John has done personally for making today's meeting happen in spite of numerous real and imaginary problems," he said at the conference's opening ceremony.
The Russian foreign minister also pointed to the efforts of the United Nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
He thanked the Swiss government for hosting the conference.
Lavrov also expressed his gratitude to all countries and organizations - the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union - that supported the joint initiative of Russia and the United States to hold Geneva II.