MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - A trilateral meeting between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, scheduled to take place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on November 22, will help facilitate direct talks between Damascus and the Syrian opposition on issues concerning Syria's political system, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"I think that the trilateral meeting we agreed on with our Iranian and Turkish neighbors will help encourage movement toward direct talks between the government and the entire spectrum of the opposition on Syria's political system after the conflict is over," Lavrov said at a press conference after a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso.
"As you probably may have read in the joint statement of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin and [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump adopted in Vietnam on the sidelines of the APEC summit, this is about drafting a constitution and laying the groundwork for elections on this basis," Lavrov said.
"All of these issues should be tackled, as is envisaged in the UN Security Council resolution, on the basis of a general accord between the government and all opposition groups," he said.
"It is understandable that as victory over ISIL [banned in Russia] and other terrorists in Syria is drawing nearer, an additional opportunity and additional conditions are emerging for the intensification of political negotiations in line with the parameters set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2254," Lavrov said.
"These talks have been held under the aegis of the UN, but in recent months, we have not observed any robust activity on the part of our UN colleagues," he said.