Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed here on Monday that the different sides in theSyrian conflict must have a dialogue sitting at negotiation table, and the dialogue is the only way to solve the conflict.

At the invitation of Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Lavrov arrived in Helsinki on Monday for a one-day visit in Finland.

At the press conference held after the meeting with Tuomioja, Lavrov emphasized that both sides of the Syrian conflict should keep restraint and avoid using violence.

At the same time, he rejected the proposal of setting a "safe zone" in Syria raised by Turkey on the same day. He pointed out that no any unilateral action will bring a result.

Tuomioja also stated that under a situation of none of the European countries supporting the proposal, setting a "safe zone" in Syrian seems to be unrealistic.

On Monday morning, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen met Lavrov respectively, and exchanged ideas with Lavrov on some important international issues, particularly the Syrian crisis.