Russian Duma chair to travel to Syria for talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov has said he will travel to Damascus to get familiar with the situation in the country and hold talks with the Syrian leadership, RIA Novosti reported.

Pushkov said that he had “scheduled a meeting with both the executive and the legislative authorities of the country.”

Syria on rejected an Arab League resolution calling for a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping force in the country as well as tightening economic sanctions on Damascus.

The Arab League resolution came a week after Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

The Arab League has been at the forefront of regional efforts to end violence in Syria. The group put forward a plan that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to in December and then sent monitors to Syria.

The League withdrew its monitoring mission from Syria in January because the regime failed to end the bloodshed.

At least 5,400 people have been killed in the Syrian government's 11-month crackdown on protesters, according to the UN. Syrian authorities blame the violence on armed gangs affiliated with al-Qaeda and say more than 2,000 soldiers and police have been killed.