Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, May 20 that it is crucial for Syrian opposition representatives to take part in a peace conference without setting any preconditions, apparently referring to demands for President Bashar al-Assad's exit, according to Reuters.

Lavrov also reiterated that Iran must be among nations invited to the conference that Russia and the United States are trying to organize to seek a resolution to the more than two-year-old conflict that has killed at least 80,000 people.