French FM says Syria peace talks can start in July

PanARMENIAN.Net - An international peace conference on ending the ongoing civil conflict in Syria could take place in July, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday, June 2, RIA Novosti reported.

"The Geneva II conference is the last chance. I hope it will take place. I think that it could take place in July," Fabius said.

The French foreign minister said time was needed to prepare the conference. "It's not just about getting round the table and then asking what we are going to talk about… That is why I say that the July date would be suitable," he said, adding both the Syrian government and the opposition must attend the conference.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in early May after a Moscow meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry that the two countries had decided to hold an international conference aimed at facilitating a solution through political dialogue to the Syrian crisis, in which more than 80,000 people have died since fighting broke out between government forces and rebels in March 2011.