ASTANA. April 21 (Interfax) - The consolidation of all forces operating on the ground in Syria against terrorism could accelerate the Syria settlement process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"If all those forces could be refocused on the war on terrorism, ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra [banned in Russia], I believe the result would be achieved quickly enough, and it would be positive," Lavrov told reporters in Astana on Friday.
The situation on the ground in Syria remains "extremely complicated", Lavrov said.
"We are seeking to expand the range of parties to the cessation of hostilities agreement with new armed opposition groups. At the same time, this process is being complicated by the opposite trend, as supporters of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization are trying to draw other armed units into its orbit, thus detaching them from the Astana process," Lavrov said.