Syrian foreign minister to discuss peace efforts in Moscow
Syria's foreign minister will meet his Russian counterpart in Moscow next week to discuss ways to resolve the conflict in Syria, Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Separately, Syria's ambassador to Russia told Interfax news agency that Damascus still dependeds on Russia for arms and technical assistance.
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov would discuss steps to renew the political process of resolving the Syrian conflict when they meet next week, the ministry said.
It also reiterated Moscow's call for direct dialogue between Damascus and opposition groups.
Civil war in Syria since 2011 has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions, the United Nations says.
Russia is a staunch ally of Syria and a big exporter of arms to Syria, refusing to bow to the pressure from West to abandon sales.
