MOSCOW, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Moscow sees no alternative to the Geneva Communique in resolving the Syria crisis and called for its immediate implementation, a high-ranking Russian diplomat said Friday.
The Geneva Communique, agreed by world powers on June 30 last year, sets out steps for a peaceful transition of power in Syria.
"We impatiently wait to implement the agreements reached in Geneva without causing harm to Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mikhail Bogdanov told the Russia Today TV channel.
Moscow recognized the right of the Syrians to choose their leaders without any outside involvement, the diplomat said, adding Russia did not pursue any selfish interests in Syria.
"We have no geopolitical, military or economic aims but we try to strengthen the principals of international law, not to allow foreign intervention in other countries' domestic affairs which threaten their sovereignty and influence the choice of the population there," he said.
Russian officials were to attend a meeting on the Syrian crisis in Geneva with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and UN-Arab League joint envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, according to Bogdanov.
The previous "three Bs" meeting involving Bogdanov, Burns and Brahimi was held in Geneva on Dec. 10, 2012.
Brahimi, who is intensifying diplomatic efforts to end the 22-month-long crisis, said during his last trip to Moscow there was still a chance of a political settlement, despite escalating tension in Syria and growing civilian casualties.
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