MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have discussed preparations for further meetings on Syria in Astana and Geneva, as well as the implementation of plans to convene the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"During the [telephone] conversation, the parties addressed relevant issues of the Syrian settlement in light of the outcomes of the latest round of the intra-Syrian talks under the aegis of the UN, which concluded in Geneva on December 14, and in the context of preparations for further meetings in Astana and Geneva, as well as implementing the initiative of Russia, Iran, and Turkey to convene the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi in order to facilitate the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.
"The minister and the secretary-general addressed the issue of Libyan settlement, reiterating the need to respect the UN's and the African Union's roles as mediators," the statement said.
"An exchange of views on the process of reforming the UN initiated by Guterres took place. The parties expressed a general opinion about the need to reach balanced agreements based on the broad consensus of all of the main groups of the organization's member states," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.