Lavrov Tells Visiting UN Syria Envoy, End ‘Suffocating Sanctions’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen in Moscow on July 22. Their public remarks ahead of the meeting mostly consisted of pleasantries and promises to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which sets the framework for a political solution in Syria, but the disastrous economic situation in Syria was also up front. Pedersen observed that the economic situation in Syria is extremely difficult, stating that “9 out of 10 are living in poverty. … We have Syria divided more or less into three different areas. All of this needs to change. But for this to change, we need to start on how we concretely can implement Security Council resolution 2254.”