The Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, stated that it is beneficial to identify areas of cooperation between Moscow and Washington in Syria.
Antonov emphasized in a statement to Sputnik that Russia is ready to collaborate with the United States on the condition of respecting the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. He pointed out several areas in which Moscow and Washington can cooperate, including counter-terrorism, humanitarian aid, reconstruction, landmine removal, and assisting the return of displaced persons.
Regarding the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III), Antonov noted that former President Donald Trump turned this treaty into a political bargaining chip. He highlighted that Russia had proposed to the United States over a year ago to extend the treaty without preconditions, but the Republican U.S. administration firmly rejected extending it at the time of signing and presented unacceptable conditions, thus turning the only existing U.S.-Russia agreement on nuclear arms reduction into a political bargaining topic.
Antonov stated, "We hope that the current administration will approach these principles more realistically," affirming that Russia is open to a substantive dialogue on extending the treaty, as there are still opportunities to reach a suitable agreement before its expiration on February 5.
Additionally, Antonov announced that his country is counting on the new U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to consider its proposal for a pentagonal summit involving the heads of state of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. He mentioned: “The Russian initiative was previously supported by the leadership of the five countries and remains valid,” adding that “the proposals on the agenda have been sent to colleagues; these are key issues affecting the state of global politics, security, and the economy, although the date and place of this meeting have not yet been set.” He expressed hope that the new U.S. administration would carefully consider the Russian proposal and that the "pentagonal" summit would be organized as soon as the pandemic situation allows.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed last June to organize a meeting for the leaders of the permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, the United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom).
In a related context, the official spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that the inclusion of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad's name on the EU sanctions list is a clear rejection by Brussels to negotiate with the Syrian government. She urged the European Union to invoke reason and logic, return to international legal frameworks, and call for the permanent lifting of the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the EU on Damascus for the benefit of the Syrian people and to ensure regional stability and security.
It is worth noting that the EU had previously added Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to its sanctions list, who was appointed to this position after the death of former Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem in mid-November.
