Lavrentiev: Only Syrians can decide their country’s future

Head of the Russian delegation to Astana meetings on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev said that it is no longer possible to delay holding the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.

“We talked a lot yesterday and today with our partners from the guarantor states on holding dialogue as we agreed and confirmed our strong intention to contribute to holding the Congress on January, 29-30,” Lavrentiev told Sputnik Agency in an interview.

He indicated that it is no longer possible to delay the Congress’s date, particularly that it will contribute to developing the talks in Geneva.

Lavrentiev stressed the need to sit to the dialogue table by representatives of  all the spectrums of the Syrian people, welcoming any efforts by the international community to contribute to settling the crisis in Syria, affirming that these efforts “should be exerted in the right direction.”

He criticized the international community for not exerting the required efforts to solve the crisis.

Lavrentiev clarified that Moscow will not practice any pressure on the participants in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress when making their decisions, adding that “We provide a platform, and the most important thing for us is that the congress will be comprehensive.”

He confirmed that the future of the Syrian people is in the hands of the Syrians themselves and they are the only ones who decide what should be done.