Russia's Lavrov meets Syrian opposition figures

Sep 3, 2015 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently met with Syrian opposition figures in Moscow, in a renewed push to settle the regional conflict.

While speaking to Hassan Abdel Azim and the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, a bloc of left-wing political parties, Lavrov expressed Russia’s readiness to support Syrian unity.

“I want to underline once again – Russia firmly supports the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and strongly believes in an ability of Syrians themselves to define their destiny and to solve hard problems your motherland is facing.”

Moscow has extended its hand to several Middle Eastern leaders in respect to the Syrian conflict, which started as a street protest in 2011. The Moscow kremlin recently played host to King Abdullah of Jordan, who pointed at Russia as a vital player in bringing together the rival sides in Syria.

President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan also met with President Putin on the sidelines of Russia’s MAC air show to discuss the Syrian war that has killed a quarter of a million people.

The Russian leader has also received Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Moscow as part of the high-level diplomatic contacts talks over Syria.