DHAKA: A Syrian government delegation met Russian officials on Monday to discuss plans for an international peace conference on the conflict in the Middle East nation.

The United States, Russia and the United Nations are trying to convene the conference in Geneva to try to end the civil war in the Middle Eastern nation.

Interfax news agency said a senior Iranian official was also due in Moscow for talks on Syria, reports The Straits Times.

The meetings follow a telephone call on Thursday between president Vladimir Putin and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad which the Kremlin said was their first since Putin returned to the Russian presidency in 2012.

Russia has been Assad’s most powerful backer during the conflict, sending arms and blocking Western efforts to condemn or pressure Assad.

BDST: 1619 HRS, NOV 18, 2013
RoR/SRS