Russia, U.S. have no agreement on Syria – Lavrov

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia and the United States have not agreed on a mutual position over the situation in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, Nov 20, after talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cambodia, RIA Novosti reported.

“There is no common line yet,” Lavrov said.

Since its start in March 2011, the Syrian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, according to various Syrian opposition groups. The UN puts the death toll at least 30,000 people.

The West is pushing for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, while Russia and China seek to prevent outside interference in Syria, claiming that the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed. Veto-wielding Moscow and Beijing have three times blocked UN Security Council resolutions on Syria.

Lavrov also said that Moscow hopes to discuss a meeting of the Middle East Quartet mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the Gaza crisis is settled.