Russia is planning to host a series of meetings on Syria conflict after efforts at the international level to hammer out a peace deal failed in Geneva earlier this year. report Presstv
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on Friday said Moscow is conducting preliminary consultations for such negotiations.
The talks, according to him, would be all-encompassing with representatives from both the government and the Western-backed opposition engaged in peace-making process.
Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem travelled to the Russian capital, Moscow, where he reportedly discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin ways to re-launch peace talks.
Moscow has also increased its diplomatic efforts to convince various regional stakeholders, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to engage in another series of talks along the lines of previous international meetings.
According to reports, Egypt is also engaged in the preparations for such talks as it could serve as a mediator between Moscow and Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Russian sources say Cairo has intensified its correspondence with Arab governments to endorse the projected conference.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy to Syria, is also likely to be actively involved in this process.
In late October, de Mistura visited Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He then traveled to Damascus and Cairo to coordinate issues related to the conference.
If the meeting is held, the Syrian government will be represented by Muallem, while Moaz al-Khatib, the former head of the so-called opposition National Council, may represent Syria’s opposition.