Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura separately yesterday, and the settlement of the Syrian crisis was discussed.

At the outset of the meeting which was held on the side lines of the St Petersburg Economic Forum, Ban Ki-moon expressed his gratitude to the Russian President for the efforts that he has made in the international arena. On his part, Putin assured the Secretary-General of the UN that he supports all the steps that he is taking to solve the most complex international problems.

The German Press Agency stated that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with the UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura took place on the side-lines of the forum. The media quoted de Mistura as saying that the date for the resumption of the Syrian negotiations has not been decided on.

The RT website reported yesterday that Sergey Lavrov was surprised at his US counterpart John Kerry’s remark that “Patience has limits” with regards to the Syrian crisis. He is quoted as saying “I saw John Kerry’s comments and was amazed. John Kerry usually possesses self-restraint; I do not know what happened to him. Then I read a clarification issued by the US State Department about Kerry’s comments. They should exercise more patience”.

Regarding this matter, the Russian Foreign minister pointed out that the US President Barack Obama has spoken of “the policy of strategic patience” exercised by his administration more than once.