7 July 201722:24
07-07-2017
Question: Mr Lavrov,
how did this long meeting go?
Sergey Lavrov: If the
presidents see that they have issues to discuss and to solve something rather
than just exchange opinions, I don’t think that time is of paramount
importance. Indeed, they had a very long conversation. My feeling was confirmed
that President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the
United States Donald Trump are driven by the national interests of their
countries and pursue them primarily by seeking to achieve mutually beneficial
agreements rather than trying to act out confrontational scenarios and invent
problems out of the blue. It was in this concrete and business-like vein that
Syria, Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula, cyber security and a number of other
issues were discussed.
Agreements were reached on
some quite concrete things.
First, literally today,
Russian, US and Jordanian experts finished work in Jordan’s capital Amman and
agreed on a memorandum on de-escalation zones in the south-west of Syria – in
Daraa, Quneitra and Souweida. The ceasefire in this zone will come in effect on
July 9 at 12 pm Damascus time.
Russia and the United States
have undertaken commitments to ensure the ceasefire regime by all the groups
present there and also to provide humanitarian access and establish contacts
between the opposition in that region and the Monitoring Centre being set up in
the capital of Jordan. In the beginning, security around this de-escalation
zone will be provided by Russian military police in coordination with Americans
and Jordanians. It is crucial that the document clearly confirms the commitment
of Russia, Jordan and the United States to the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Syria and the UN Security Council resolutions which laid the
foundation for promoting a political settlement. This is the agreement that
both the presidents welcomed today.
Second. While discussing
Ukraine, the US side reported that they had appointed a special envoy to assist
in settling the Ukrainian crisis. It was agreed to set up a channel between
Russian and US officials so as to use US capabilities for promoting a
settlement on the basis of the Minsk agreements and relying on the groundwork
laid by the Contact Group and in the Normandy format. We expect that the US
envoy on the Ukrainian settlement will arrive shortly in Russia for
consultations.
The third issue is cyber
security which was understandably given considerable attention. The presidents
agreed that this area is becoming ever more dangerous. There are numerous
threats emerging in cyber space, including a terrorist threat, threats in other
areas of organised crime, such threats to the normal functioning of societies
as child pornography, pedophilia, the so-called suicide networks. Of course,
President Trump also mentioned that certain circles in the United States keep
on spinning the issue of Russia’s interference in the US elections even though
they are unable to prove that.
All these issued combined,
including fight against terrorism, organised crime, hacking in all its forms,
were agreed as subjects of Russian-US interaction. A bilateral working group
will be set up for that purpose.
The fourth agreement
envisions shorter procedures for appointing new ambassadors, the Russian
ambassador to the USA and the US ambassador to Russia.
Question: Was the issue of
the Russian diplomatic property on US territory raised?
Sergey Lavrov: Yes, it was.
We will continue seeking justice.
Question: Did the sides
fail to agree on anything on this issue?
Sergey Lavrov: If I
said we will continue doing this, it means there is still work to do.
Question: You are a
diplomat and you notice details. There are no minor details in diplomacy. What
do you think about the atmosphere at the meeting? What set the tone? Where can
things go from here in your opinion?
Sergey Lavrov: The
atmosphere was constructive. As I said in the beginning, the tone was set by
the desire of both presidents to promote the national interests of Russia and
the United States, respectively. It was determined by the understanding that
each country will be able to do this better if we cooperate and seek a balance
of interests, and also if we work for stabilisation in different parts of the
world, where the situation is very turbulent, be it the Middle East or North
Africa, the Korean Peninsula or Afghanistan.
Question: Were there
any agreements on Ukraine? US President Donald Trump had proposals on a different
plan.
Sergey Lavrov: I don’t
remember US President Donald Trump offering some other plan. A lengthy
conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today in the morning did
not reveal any departures from the Minsk agreements either. Just as during the
conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris
yesterday, it was stated that the sides are interested in speeding up the
implementation of the Minsk agreements and are determined to work toward this.
Question: What was said
on Russia’s “interference” in the US election?
Sergey Lavrov: I have
already spoken on this subject.
Question: Now you have
essentially announced the agreement on the south of Syria. Two days ago the
result in Astana was zero although this issue was discussed. Is the
Russia-US-Jordan format you mentioned new? Will you put it through Astana later
on? Will you discuss it with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan tomorrow?
Sergey Lavrov: Read the May
4 Memorandum approved in Astana. It deals with four de-escalation zones in
Syria: northern (in the area of Idlib); a zone a bit to the north of Homs; a
zone covering the greater part of Eastern Ghouta and the south-west of Syria.
Obviously, it will be very difficult to agree on anything in the south-west without
the Jordanians and the Americans who are working with the Jordanians and
representing the interests of the coalition in this region. Three other zones
were primarily discussed in Astana a couple of days ago. As we said, there is
an understanding on how the zones near Homs and Eastern Ghouta should look. The
discussion of the northern zone is still going on.
To be continued...
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