Steinmeier to push for Syria peace initiative at weekend talks

Baku. 12 September. REPORT.AZ/ The German Foreign Ministry has said that Syria is likely to be on the agenda as Russia and Ukraine meet in Berlin over the weekend. Russia has announced that it will continue its military support for the Assad regime, Report informs citing foreign media. 

Spokesman for the German foreign ministry Martin Schäfer said on Friday that German Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier believes the moment has come "for a new diplomatic initiative."

Steinmeier is due to host Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as his Ukrainian and French counterparts on Saturday evening, primarily to discuss the Ukraine conflict.

Berlin hopes, however, to also touch upon the Syrian conflict in the hope of eventually enabling the two main conflicting parties to sit down together to discuss a peace initiative.

Schäfer said the Syrian conflict is of growing concern "due to the increasing amount of human suffering and need of refugees from the region who are trying to seek asylum here [in Germany] or elsewhere."