ASTANA. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Moscow is seeing no easy ways to settle the Syria crisis and is taking every effort to bring the positions of the government and the armed opposition of this country closer, Russian special presidential representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said.
"The event [the meeting in Astana] is not easy; the Syria crisis lasts over five years. Therefore, we are not seeking for simple solutions to this long-standing problem, but, nevertheless, we are taking every effort to seek to bring the positions of the parties to the Syrian conflict, the positions of the Syrian government and the Syrian armed groups closer," he said.
"Preparatory work is proceeding quite intensively," Lavrentyev also said.