Russian Foreign Ministry said the participants in the Russian-US discussions on Syria which were held earlier Friday in Moscow stressed that the crisis in the country cannot be solved except through political and diplomatic means.

The Ministry issued a statement following the talks, which included Russian Deputy Ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov and US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.

According to the statement, the two sides pointed out that settling the crisis in Syria can only be achieved through political and diplomatic means and that the attempts at a military solution are unviable.

The statement also noted that the Russian-US talks stressed on the need to activate the efforts seeking to have the international Geneva 2 conference on Syria held at its specific time set on the 22nd of January.

It added that the participants in the discussions agreed that the conference could help launch a direct Syrian-Syrian dialogue where the Syrians themselves can determine their country’s future in accordance with the Geneva communique of June 2012.

The Russian side, the statement said, emphasized the importance of concerted efforts by the Syrian government and the national opposition in their struggle against the terrorist groups whose activity threatens Syria’s future and the region’s stability.

A consultation meeting was held last month in Geneva that gathered diplomats from Russia, the US and the UN to resume discussion on issues related to organizing the international conference on Syria.

The Russian side stressed on a political solution to the crisis in Syria, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov highlighting earlier that combating cross border terrorism in Syria must be the vocal point of Geneva 2 conference.

Bogdanov discusses with Haddad preparations for Geneva 2

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov discussed with Syria’s Ambassador in Moscow Riad Haddad the preparations for the international conference on Syria “Geneva 2”.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the two sides discussed in details the preparations for holding the Geneva 2 conference, which is due to be held on January, 22nd.