Kerry-Lavrov statements called 'first hopeful news' on Syria in a while By CNN Staff May 8, 2013 -- Updated 1531 GMT (2331 HKT) CNN.com US Secretary of State John Kerry (left) and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on May 7, 2013. (CNN) -- The U.N. and Arab League point man on Syria praised the top U.S. and Russian diplomats Wednesday for their latest efforts to forge a solution to the Syrian conflict. Lakhdar Brahimi called remarks from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "the first hopeful news concerning that unhappy country in a very long time." Speaking at a joint news conference Tuesday in Moscow, Kerry said he and Lavrov had agreed "as soon as is practicable, possibly and hopefully, by the end of this month" to "seek to convene an international conference." The aim would be to implement last summer's Geneva communique brokered by Russia and the United States outlining how a transitional government could be formed. Obama takes aim at Syria, North Korea The Internet goes dark in Syria A war wary village If the conference takes place, it would be the first to bring together representatives of the warring sides, which have been unable to negotiate a settlement to the two-year conflict that has claimed more than 70,000 lives. The opposition has adamantly refused any role for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in any transitional government. But Lavrov, without naming al-Assad, said he is "not interested in the fate of certain persons." Kerry went further by telling reporters that "it's impossible for me, as an individual, to understand how Syria could be governed in the future by the man who has committed the things we know have taken place." "But I'm not going to decide that tonight. I'm not going to decide that in the end. Because the Geneva communique says that the transitional government has to be chosen by mutual consent by the parties ... the current regime and the opposition," Kerry said. Brahimi said he has urged the United States and Russia "to exercise leadership and work together to initiate a process to implement" the June 30 Geneva declaration. "The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step," Brahimi said in a prepared statement. "There is every reason to expect the three other permanent members of the Security Council as a whole and indeed all the Security Council members to work together amongst themselves and with the secretary-general to carry the process forward." Deaths mounted in Syria on Wednesday. At least 76 people have been killed, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said, including 30 in the Qusair area of Homs in what the group said was a "massacre by Lebanese Hezbollah forces." © 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Share this article inShare [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
