Putin, UN Secretary General Meet Up, Discuss Syria

Local Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Syria issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Overall, Putin praised the work of Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General, taking into account that he is close to completing his mission. In the presence of [UN special envoy for Syria Staffan] de Mistura great attention was paid to Syria," Peskov told journalists in St. Petersburg on Friday.

Putin held a meeting with Ban Ki-moon in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

Syria has been mired in a war since 2011, with the Syrian army fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups.

A Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups - the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups had been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on Syrian reconciliation.

Source: Sputnik, Edited by website team