Russian Foreign Minister to meet Syrian opposition next week

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will hold talks with Syrian opposition groups next week, a diplomatic source said on Friday, July 6, according to RIA Novosti.

Sergei Lavrov will meet with representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forum group in Moscow on July 9. He is also set to hold talks with the Syrian National Council, the country's largest opposition group, on July 11.

Meanwhile, representatives from more than 100 countries gathered for a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris on Friday to discuss ways to end the violence in the country. However, Russia and China - which have previously blocked UN action on Syria - are not attending.

The UN says more than 10,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March last year.

Lavrov has met with a number of Syrian opposition groups previously.