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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