Russian Minister Lavrov: We have reached an agreement with Iran and Turkey on Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made statements following the meeting on Syria held in the "Astana" format, in which he participated alongside Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Lavrov stated that they agreed during their meeting in Doha that "hostilities" in Syria must end immediately.

Noting that Moscow wants to see dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition, Lavrov said, "It is unacceptable to allow the opposition to take control of Syrian territory."

"WE CALLED FOR DIALOGUE"

When asked how the situation in Syria would develop and what would happen to the Russian military bases there, Lavrov said he would not make a prediction and added that as long as a Palestinian state is not established, "extremism" will increase in the Middle East.

Lavrov stated that, together with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, they have called for an "end to hostile activities" in Syria.

Noting that Russia, Iran, and Turkey support "dialogue between the government and the opposition" in Syria, Lavrov said, "We called for an immediate end to hostile activities.

We all expressed our desire for the full implementation of United Nations (UN) Resolution 2254 and, to this end, called for dialogue between the government and the legitimate opposition.

Today, we agreed with Iran and Turkey to issue a strong call, and we will take specific steps to ensure this call is heeded," he said.