On the Telephone conversation between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry

On September 5, 2013 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State of the United States of America John Kerry spoke by phone upon initiative of the American Side. The parties discussed the ongoing situation in Syria.
John Kerry again presented the arguments voiced in the statement of the President of the United States Barack Obama on August 31, 2013 and in addresses of other representatives of the Administration during hearings at the Senate and the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress on feasibility of “limited” military action against Syria without UN Security Council resolution.
In this regard, Sergey Lavrov stressed out that the Russian Federation remains unalterably and consistently committed to the agreements reached in June at the G8 Summit in Lough Erne. This means that experts’ opinion on all cases of alleged usage of chemical weapons in Syria must be brought before the UN Security Council for consideration and ensuing decision-making. We reject the use of force in circumvention of this mechanism.
As a result of the discussion, the Parties agreed to use existing channels for information exchanges on expert level.