Lavrov begins regional tour with visit to Damascus

Source: AFP, 20-03-2008
DAMASCUS: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Damascus on Wednesday for talks with Syrian leaders on Middle East peace efforts. Lavrov held talks with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Moallem, shortly after arrival and is due to meet President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, Russian diplomatic sources said.
"The problems of the Middle East, particularly Lebanon and the possibility of holding a [Middle East] peace meeting in Moscow" focused on the Syrian-'Israeli' track are to be discussed, Russian Embassy spokesman Andrei Zaitsew told AFP.
Lavrov will also meet with officials of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, in particular political supremo Khaled Meshaal who lives in Syria, Zaitsew added.
Peace negotiations between 'Israel' and the Palestinians were kickstarted last November at a US-brokered conference in Annapolis, near Washington after a seven-year hiatus. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 'Israeli' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to aim - as urged by the US administration - for a comprehensive peace deal by the end of this year.
Russia aims to hold a follow-up to the Annapolis talks and has opened consultations with the Palestinian Authority, 'Israel', the Arab League, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States.
Lavrov is to travel on to 'Israel' (Occupied Palestine) on Thursday and also visit the Palestinian territories.