Declarations of possible use of force to resolve conflict are attempts to disrupt Syrian peace process - Lavrov

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Declarations of a possible use of force to resolve the Syrian conflict are an attempt to force the Syrian government to "slam the door in face" of the peace negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"Steps are being taken, some of them publicly, such as declarations that the use of force remains a possible option, steps are being taken to politicize all humanitarian issues at the UN Security Council; probably, they wish to force the government to slam the door shut [on negotiations]. These attempts are bad. One has to honor agreements. We have done our job honestly. And we expect our partners to do the same," Lavrov told a press conference after negotiations with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"We have been witnessing systemic attempts to find any pretext for thwarting a political settlement. Certainly, we grow alarmed whenever the presidents of the United States and France once again say at a joint press conferences that the affair may go beyond negotiations," Lavrov said.

Geneva-2 peace talks on Syria should not have any 'artificial deadlines' - Russian FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed attempts to set some deadlines for the Geneva II international conference on Syria as unconstructive.

"When the Russian-American initiative was announced, it was said clearly that these negotiations should not have any artificially set time parameters, or any artificial deadlines," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow on Friday.

"It is being said today that any further talks are pointless because the [Syrian] government does not want to agree on the composition of a transitional ruling body. We are going in circles. I have already explained why such an approach can hardly be called logical and constructive," the Russian minister said.

Sole wish of foreign Syrian opposition's sponsors is replacement of regime

Russia has the impression that, in persuading Syria's external opposition to join the Geneva II conference, its sponsors had only the replacement of the regime in mind, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

"They are prepared to discuss other issues, in the first place, the fight against terrorism, only after the creation of a transitional body, because 'in the field' government troops are confronted with the armed opposition," he said.

Lavrov added that the Syrian government was prepared to discuss the implementation of the Geneva communique in full.

Russia, Germany to hold summit level consultations in Berlin in April – Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russian-German summit level consultations are due to be held in Berlin in April. He was speaking in the wake of the talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow earlier this Friday.

"We have checked up on this year's schedule for political meetings. The main event is interstate consultations, Lavrov said. The next consultations are due in Berlin in April".

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov congratulates Germany on its 7 gold medals at Sochi Games

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has congratulated Germany on its successful performance at the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, promising that Russian athletes will try to catch up with the German national team in the medal standings.

"I congratulate Germany on this interim result at the Olympics. It already has seven gold medals," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow on Friday. "We will try to catch up with you," he said.

Russia, Germany believe Ukrainian political crisis should be resolved by Ukrainians – Russian FM

Russia and Germany think that the Ukrainian political crisis should be resolved by the Ukrainians themselves, Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said during a meeting with his German colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"We discussed the situation in Ukraine. Russia and Germany think that the Ukrainians should resolve the political crisis themselves; this will be for their own sake," Lavrov said. "We believe that our other Ukrainian partners also back this idea," Russian Foreign Minister added.

Russia, Germany urge Ukraine to settle political crisis on its own

Russia and Germany are calling on the Ukrainians to find their own way to settle the political crisis in the country, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday at a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"We have discussed the situation in Ukraine," Lavrov said. "Russia and Germany urge that Ukrainian people to find the way to defuse the political crisis on their own," the minister stressed.

Russian FM Lavrov meets with German counterpart: bilateral relations, foreign politics on agenda

The Russian and German Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are due to take up the entire range of bilateral relations, as well as the international agenda. This came in a statement by Russia's topmost diplomat as he declared open a meeting with his German counterpart in Moscow earlier today.

"We are happy to welcome you in Moscow for another meeting. We have been meeting on a regular basis for some time now", Lavrov said. "We have recently met in Munich. Today, we can take up at length the entire range of bilateral relations with an emphasis on European and international problems".

The German Foreign Minister pointed out for his part that the two Foreign Ministers' intensive contact clearly serves to benefit bilateral relations. 

"We will take up our stands on the international problems that need to be examined in detail, will exchange views, and discuss various aspects of bilateral relations", Steinmeier said.

Russia ready to be mediator in Ukrainian crisis, but will not impose 'its services' - Russian FM

Russia is prepared to act as a mediator between Ukraine's opposition and government in their search for a solution to the crisis in the country if Russia is asked to, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"We will not mind acting as a mediator between the authorities and the opposition if the authorities and the opposition themselves ask us to do so. But we are not going to impose our mediation services on them, as we can frequently see today on the part of other partners of Ukraine. It should be a genuinely free choice," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Moscow on Friday.

"We are not opposed to building such relations across the whole of Europe and Eurasia - ties that would exclude any temptations to play on political differences," the Russian minister said