Saudi FM points out disagreement with Moscow over Syria

By Hakan Ceyhan Akdogan
MOSCOW (AA) - Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of foreign affairs, has said disagreements over Syria between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) remained unresolved on Thursday at the fourth round of a strategic dialogue meeting held in Russian capital Moscow.
Speaking at a joint conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, al-Jubeir raised concerns over the meeting, namely over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"This is not the only thing on which we differ," he said. "Three major steps to take; first, Assad regime should stop attacking, and make room for humanitarian aid. Second, negotiations should resume and, third, dialogue should be strengthened during the Geneva process", he stated.
A “cessation of hostilities” agreement was reached by the U.S. and Russia in February in a bid to de-escalate the six-year conflict and pave the way for peace talks in Geneva between the regime and the opposition.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, was established in 1981.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to this story from Ankara.