December 27, 2012 - 13:25 AMT
Int’l envoy Brahimi to fly to Moscow for Syria talks Dec 29

International Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will fly to Moscow on Saturday, December 29 for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on how to end Syria's 21-month-old conflict, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said, according to Reuters.

Syrian diplomats earlier on Thursday entered the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to discuss proposals for a peaceful resolution to the crisis following a diplomatic push by Brahimi in Damascus this week.

Plans made by Brahimi to broker a peaceful transfer of power in Syria will top the agenda when Lavrov and Brahimi meet on later this week, the foreign ministry spokesman said.

"We plan to discuss a range of issues linked to a political and diplomatic settlement in Syria, including Brahimi's efforts aimed at ending the violence and the launch of a comprehensive national dialogue," Alexander Lukashevich said.

On Thursday, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Makdad and another aide will meet Lavrov and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Kremlin's envoy for Middle East affairs, a Russian foreign ministry source said, without detailing the nature of the talks.