Joint U.S.-Russia statement calls for U.N.-supervised elections in Syria
By
NANCY COOK
11/11/2017 06:04 PM EST
As part of a new joint statement on Syria between the U.S. and Russia, the two countries have agreed that Syria must eventually hold U.N.-supervised elections to bring new leadership to the country as part of the process of ending its multiyear civil war, according to two senior State Department officials.
That
agreement puts into writing the fact that those elections would follow the rules outlined in the U.N. Security Council resolution known as
2254. That resolution says voting will include the ballots of the Syrian diaspora, displaced from the country by years of war, the officials added.
The State Department officials stressed that the joint statement shores up the areas of agreement between the U.S. and Russia as to Syria’s political future, while acknowledging that work still remains — particularly on the de-escalation zones inside Syria.
“Despite our many differences with Russia, we can work together and do that in the service of our national security,” one of the officials said.
