A senior Syrian regime delegation has held talks with top Russian diplomats in Moscow on plans to hold a peace conference with rebels in Geneva, to end the Syria conflict.
President Bashar al-Assad's presidential adviser Buthaina Shaaban and Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad met Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov, who are both Russian deputy foreign ministers, Russian news agencies said.
The Syrian delegation left the Stalin-era Russian foreign ministry skyscraper in central Moscow after the talks finished without making any comment, the RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies reported on Monday.
It was unclear if they would be holding further meetings during their stay in Moscow.
Syrian regime officials had said earlier the talks would focus on preparations for the proposed peace conference in Geneva which Russia and the United States originally wanted to hold in May but which has been repeatedly put back.
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According to the Syrian opposition, Russia also invited the opposition National Coalition president Ahmed Jarba to Moscow from November 18 to 21 for a trip which would have coincided with the visit of the regime officials.
The opposition head was very interested in the invitation but regretted being unable to visit Moscow on Monday, due to "preset official commitments", adviser Munzer Aqbiq told AFP Sunday.
The proposed peace conference on Syria dubbed Geneva II aims to bring government and rebel representatives to the negotiating table for the first time.
The opposition Coalition has agreed to attend the peace talks so long as they lead to a transitional period that would see Assad's departure from power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held his first telephone talks with Assad in two years, applauding Damascus for its willingness to attend the peace conference.
