CSTO states support efforts to convene Geneva II conference on Syria

The member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have supported efforts to convene a peace conference on Syria, commonly known as Geneva II. “The CSTO member states support the efforts to convene an international conference aimed at laying the groundwork for reconciliation and normalization [of the situation] in Syria,” the CSTO leaders said in a joint statement adopted at their summit in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Monday, September 23. They also “strongly condemn any manifestation of terrorism and violence against the peaceful population, especially religious or ethnic ones, and oppose unlawful actions aimed at further militarization of the internal conflict in Syria.” The CSTO member states said the crisis in Syria should be resolved as soon as possible “by the Syrians themselves, with respect for the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic,” and called for “an end to the violence in the country and for a broad political dialogue between the authorities and the opposition without preconditions, on the basis of the Geneva Communique of June 30, 2012.” The statement begins with the expression of concern about the situation in Syria and around it. The signatories called for peace, stability, prosperity and progress in Syria and in the whole of the Middle East. “The CSTO member states believe that external interference, including the use of force, is unacceptable and can lead to further destabilization of the situation in country and far beyond the region. Furthermore, any international interference in the Syrian conflict in circumvention of the U.N. Security Council and in violation of the U.N. Charter would be unlawful,” the statement said. The CSTO countries supported Russia’s efforts to settle the Syrian conflict by political and diplomatic methods only and implement the Russian-American agreement for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons.