Leaders gather in London for Syria donor conference

Baku. 4 February. REPORT.AZ/ World leaders have gathered for a donor conference in London in an attempt to raise £6.2bn for those affected by the war in Syria.

Report informs, some 70 leaders are expected to attend the conference, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, UK Premier Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

They are aiming to raise funds for education and jobs for Syrian refugees.

Hours before the conference was due to begin, peace talks between the Syrian regime and opposition were suspended.

The United Nations-brokered talks in Geneva, which opened just two days ago, were expected to resume on 25 February.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN's special envoy at the talks, admitted there had been a lack of progress but said that the negotiations had not failed.

The £6.2bn being sought on Thursday is made up of a UN appeal for £5.3bn and approximately £900m requested by regional host governments.