Russian, U.S. experts to meet in Geneva to finish work on document for withdrawal of militants, residents from eastern Aleppo - Lavrov
HAMBURG. Dec 8 (Interfax) - Moscow and Washington reached an agreement on a meeting between their military experts and diplomats in Geneva on December 10 to complete work on a document for the withdrawal of militants from eastern Aleppo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Finally, it can probably be said that the agreement was reached about a meeting of our military experts and diplomats in Geneva on Saturday in order to eventually finish the work, which has continued quite sporadically all these days over the document, which determines the ways and methods of a final settlement of the eastern Aleppo problem through the departure of all militants and those civilian residents, who will wish to do so, from there," Lavrov told journalists on Thursday.
"Concrete details will be discussed in Geneva the day after tomorrow," the minister also said.
"If all this takes place, I do not know, it is difficult to say confidently here, given the twists and turns of this week, when our American colleagues submitted a document, which we were ready to accept as a basis and agree on this basis, then they revoked it and offered a new text," Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister also highlighted the intensity of contacts with the American side on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) countries in Hamburg.
"Two contacts with John Kerry and a telephone conversation also took place today. He flew to Washington, we needed to continue the discussion on something," Lavrov said.