Lavrov discusses situation in Syria with leader of Iraqi Kurds
MOSCOW. June 20 (Interfax) - The situation in Syria and preparations for an international conference on the settlement of the crisis in that country have been discussed in the wings of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.
"Special attention was paid to the situation in the Middle East, primarily the context of the Syrian crisis, the absence of an alternative to its political settlement through the convocation of an international conference on Syria in Geneva," the ministry report says.
During a detailed discussion the sides mulled concrete issues related to the implementation of understandings reached during Barzani's visit to Moscow last February and aimed at the active development of economic, investment and humanitarian ties with the Kurdish autonomy in the context of the general expansion of relations between Russia and Iraq.