ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Syria issue with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Overall, Putin praised the work of Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General, taking into account that he is close to completing his mission. In the presence of [UN special envoy for Syria Staffan] de Mistura great attention was paid to Syria," Peskov told journalists in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups.
A Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups — the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups have been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on Syrian reconciliation.
