Syrian government, opposition must work to expel "terrorists": Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued a new call on Monday for the Syrian government and opposition to work together to expel all "terrorists and extremists from Syria", Russian news agencies reported. At the start of talks with Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamil, Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency that last month's agreement in Northern Ireland for the two sides to work together to expel the "terrorists and extremists" should "become one of the main points of the proposed international (peace) conference". "To our regret, unlike the government of Syria, a significant part of the opposition, including the National Council, has not expressed such readiness yet."