Russian, Chinese FMs call for peace in Syria

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday called for a peaceful settlement in Syria.

"We exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria. From both sides an extremely negative evaluation was given to airstrikes by the U.S. and their allies on Syria, as a flagrant violation of the international law," Lavrov said, according to Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

Lavrov's remarks came at a meeting with Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's foreign ministers summit in the Chinese capital Beijing.

The ministers discussed the situation in Syria, North Korea, the Iran nuclear deal and bilateral relations, according to the statement.

Both sides said that the Syrian crisis could only be solved through diplomatic and political means.

"We stressed that there is no alternative to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Syrian crisis. We agreed to increase bilateral coordination in this area, including in the UN Security Council," Lavrov said.

Wang Yi recalled that there was no UN Security Council approval for airstrikes on Syria.

The two ministers also expressed their support to the Iran nuclear deal and approved the North Korea's decision to suspend nuclear missiles test.