RUSSIA reiterated yesterday that maintaining Syria’s territorial integrity is vital to the entire Middle East as Western-backed militants said they would attend Monday’s peace talks in Geneva.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that resisting moves to Balkanise Syria along sectarian lines was “a cornerstone.”

“Both the format of Syria’s political system and the format of Syria’s authorities are the issues that are to be decided by the Syrians,” he said. “Only the Syrians themselves can take a legitimate decision about their future.”