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Russia invites Syrians, opposition to Moscow for talks
Aims to defuse escalating Syrian crisis; opposition reportedly dismisses offer.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at his press conference in Moscow , on January 18, 2012. Lavrov accused today Western powers of trying to ‘suffocate’ the Iranian economy and incite popular discontent with new sanctions such as a proposed oil embargo. AFP PHOTO / YURI KADOBNOV
Yuri Kadobnov
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russia has invited the Syrian government and opposition forces to meet in Moscow to discuss a solution to the violence wracking the country, Reuters reported.
A senior member of the Syrian opposition council said separately that no invitation had been received from Moscow and that it would be refused anyway.
More from GlobalPost: Syrian state media: "Terrorists" bomb gas pipeline
Naharnet, a Lebanese newswire, said Russia said its offer to host talks was motivated by its desire to see an end to the crisis "through a peaceful mechanism worked out by the Syrians themselves, without international interference."
Meanwhile, Foreign Policy reported that the draft UN Security Council resolution gives the government of Bashar al-Assad 15 days to relinquish power.