By Nabil Al Mulhem
Albawaba.com - Damascus
Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, asserted that his visit to the Middle East is another attempt on the part of his country to try to ease tension and to stress the need to return to peace negotiations.
Ivanov declared after a meeting he had with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, that he was chosen for this trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to normalize the situation.
He said that after his trip to Syria, he is due to meet “Lebanese, Palestinian and Israeli leaders.” His trip to the region aims “at easing tension, normalizing the situation, and finding a way to help the parties return to negotiations”, he added on Monday.
Ivanov also said that Russia wants to limit the violence against Palestinian citizens and that “killing innocent civilians is unacceptable.”
According to him, this fact has to be established, adding that it is of importance to Russia to be identified with the Syrian policies regarding the current events. He, on his part, will give the Syrian government an account of the Russian view of the crisis.
Ivanov admitted the difficulty of his job. He expressed, however, his satisfaction with the results of the talks with Syrian officials. He also believes that a boost in Syrian –Russian relations is relevant to the stability of the region.
Foreign Minister Ivanov feels that Russia agrees with Syria’s view of all topics on their agenda. Ivanov discussed with the Syrian President ways to boost relations between the two countries which have a history of strong, positive relations.
Russia is considered one of the peace sponsors in the region – Albawaba.com
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