The second day of the international Med Dialogues 2016 conference in the Italian capital was marked by a meeting between the United States and Russian diplomatic chiefs. A bilateral meeting lasting over an hour was held on Friday afternoon between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Kerry said Friday during his speech that he believed there was cause for optimism in the future. "The world is not falling apart, on the contrary it is coming together," he said, adding that he did not believe disorder would prevail. Russia supports dialogue on the Syrian conflict, Lavrov said on the sidelines of the event, but negotiations "are blocked by those who want to oust Assad". The Italian "position has not changed" as concerns possible sanctions against Russia for its actions in Syria, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. Russia has been heavily criticized for its military backing of the Assad regime, accused of ongoing grave human rights violations. Italy "has always complied with decisions on European sanctions against Russia but has also expressed strong opposition to extending the sanctions mechanism to the Syrian situation", Gentiloni said in speaking at a press conference with his Russian counterpart. However, "a military solution is not the solution in Syria", he said, adding that "negotiations and a transition cannot be based on the rubble of a city", referring to the ongoing, Russian-backed regime offensive on opposition-held areas of the city of Aleppo. The Italian foreign minister went on to urge humanitarian intervention in Syria, saying "the gravity of what is happening in Aleppo is clear to everyone. We need to support attempts made by the UN" to alleviate the situation. Gentiloni mentioned the proposal by UN envoy Staffan De Mistura for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusra) to leave the eastern part of the city.
"There is discussion underway on how this would be carried out," he added. "I hope that today's meetings in Rome can open up some positive possibility in this direction." Turkey meanwhile said that it would not stop migrants from entering the EU.
In taking part in the conference, Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz said: "It's not our problem," in response to a question on the issue. "It's the international community's problem". "Turkish citizens feel betrayed on the issue of its accession to the EU process. The issue of visas did not begin with Syria; it was an agreement that was finalized long before. We do not want the Syrian issue to be an obstacle. We cannot accept this," he said.
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