Damascus. November 17th. INTERFAX - Russia does not accept attempts to divide the Syrian Arab Republic and create quasi-states on its territory, Russian President's special representative for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said during a round table held in Damascus as part of the visit of the Russian interdepartmental delegation.
"Russia is aimed at further searching for ways of a Syrian settlement in the interests of preserving the independence, unity and territorial integrity of the state. Any attempts to divide the country and create quasi-state entities remain unacceptable to us, regardless of under what pretexts such attempts were not accepted," Lavrentiev said.
He stressed that the intra-Syrian dialogue should take place without any external pressure. "The Syrians themselves can come to an optimal solution, overcome differences on constitutional reform and, accordingly, make changes if necessary," he said.
