MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Efforts to form a constitutional committee for Syria have so far failed but a solid foundation for launching the political settlement process has been laid, Russian president Vladimir Putin said.
"Of course, we paid attention to the topic of creating the Constitutional Committee whose aim is to deal with underlying aspects of the future political system in Syria. Russian and Turkish diplomats, in close contact with Iranian colleagues, did a serious job of approving the committee makeup, fulfilled all the agreements reached in Istanbul with France and Germany. Alas, efforts to form the constitutional committee by the end of last year failed," Putin said after Russian-Turkish talks on Wednesday.
"However, thanks to our efforts, a solid and balanced foundation has been laid for the launch of a steady and viable process of political settlement," he said.