Russia calls option to use force in Syria counterproductive

Raising the prospect of military intervention was counterproductive to resolving the Syrian crisis, Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying Friday. He was responding to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during the recent peace conference in the Swiss town of Montreaux that President Barack Obama had not forgotten about the option to use force against Syria. Gatilov said all outside players in the Syrian domestic conflict had agreed "long ago" that no alternative to a political solution in Syria existed. He warned it was premature to speak so far about what particular agreements could be reached between confronting Syrian parties and the process might take much time. Still, Gatilov added, if agreements were achieved, Moscow would like to confirm them through a U.N. Security Council resolution. The next round of the talks between Syrian government and opposition groups has been scheduled for Feb. 10.