Russia said on Sunday that participants in Lausanne talks said they are committed to keep Syria united and secular.

In a statement released on Sunday, Russian foreign ministry said the participants also stressed that the Syrians are to decide their fate through a national dialogue that includes all Syrian parties.

The participants meanwhile, said that the “moderate” rebels should be separated from terrorist factions in a bid to guarantee the implementation of any cessation of hostilities agreement, according to the statement.

In this context, it is important that all participants know that operations against Nusra and ISIL terrorists are to continue, the foreign ministry said in the statement.

Shortly after talks ended on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies that participants at multinational talks on ending the Syria crisis in Switzerland on Saturday agreed to continue contacts in the near future.

Lavrov also said that the parties at the talks had discussed several “interesting ideas” and that they had spoken in favor of launching a political process in Syria as soon as possible.

The Lausanne meeting only included regional powers with influence on battlefield outcomes in Syria, alongside Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

For his part, Kerry said the parties reached a consensus on a “broad agreement” on a number of important points, specifically a “desired outcome on ending conflict,” in his remarks to the press.

The US State Department said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan were among the regional powers represented.

Source: Agencies