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Author : Sergey Ryabkov
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation
I welcome the interest that we feel within the broad sec-
tions of the Russian public, as well as abroad, in what
was taking place at Moscow's diplomatic venues recently.
It is an important event that goes far beyond the agenda
on the table when the secretary of state and the foreign
minister hold talks, and it is a signal, as a minimum,
pointing to the dubious position of the U.S. administra-
tion, which periodically states that Russia "is in isola-
tion," that Russia has lost its positions, and so on and
so forth.
I would not see any special political planning here, but the circumstances, including the situation
in and around Ukraine, of course, weigh in. Of the entire array of issues, I will single out only
one, i.e., the need for leaders and ministers to meet and talk.
Unfortunately, Washington's position still contains an element of demand with regard to us, to
the Russian Federation, to Moscow.
The fact is that through the efforts, above all, of the Russian and U.S. militaries, which are in di-
rect contact, in the past several days and weeks the number of violations of the ceasefire regime
that was agreed upon between Moscow and Washington significantly reduced. We were able to
establish coordination - I insist on this term, no matter how much Pentagon representatives
might shun it, - via different channels. At the same time, we provided active assistance to Staffan
de Mistura, the special envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria, who has just announced
the end of the latest round of negotiations.
It is very important for the United States and countries of the so-called anti-ISIS coalition to
adopt an extremely thoughtful and responsible approach towards the chance that has now ap-
peared for a direct dialogue between the Syrian parties amid the relative calm on the ground.
We are concerned by Ankara's actions, among other things, along the perimeter of the Turkish
borders. There was a difficult period when targets on Syrian territory were shelled from Turkish
territory, and there are incursions deep into Iraqi territory, and there are also airstrikes. We urge
Ankara to adopt a more responsible approach towards such issues because, from our perspective,
these are destabilizing actions. It would be more important to ensure Kurdish representation at
the talks and see to it that the border between Turkey and Syria is not porous for extremists, in-
cluding militants of ISIS, an organization that is banned in Russia
If the lessons from what happened in the past few months, including the terrible terrorist acts
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
International Affairs: Summary№3, 2016
"Moscow Has Always Been the World's Diplomatic Capital"