Russia is determined to cooperate with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on the issues of Syrian regulation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said in an interview with TASS. Vershinin is heading the Russian delegation at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
According to him, the Russian side has already established working contacts with the envoy. “He [Pedersen] visited Moscow, where we received him,” the Russian deputy foreign minister noted. “We will continue to communicate with him here [in Geneva] on the whole range of Syrian political regulation issues.”
“The events of such a level as the high segment of the UNHRC session, currently taking place in Geneva, is a good opportunity for conversation and meetings with a large amount of influential political personalities,” Vershinin said. “I have just had a detailed conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, during which we touched upon the general issues and the way we see and understand human rights issues and the work in this area as a whole.”
“We have also discussed several specific regional issues that the UN, namely, the Security Council, is dealing with,” the Russian diplomat pointed out.
“These conflict situations and issues, these hotbeds of tensions are on everyone’s mind. We are talking about the situation in Syria, Yemen, Libya – the situations where the UN is doing a lot to find solutions through peaceful dialogue through the active efforts of the Secretary General and his special envoys. I would like to reiterate what I have said to the Secretary General: we firmly support these decisions and the efforts of the UN.”