Second Round of Syrian Talks in Moscow May Be Held in April: Diplomat

The second round of Syrian reconciliation talks in Moscow may take place in April, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.

"The next meeting is scheduled (to take place) possibly in April, depending on how the situation will unfold," Gatilov said.

The first round of intra-Syrian talks was held in Moscow between January 26 and 29, with the participation of the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition.

Gatilov also said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may meet with UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura on March 2.

The deputy foreign minister did not specify what the possible meeting may entail, but said there would be "an exchange of opinions on the first round of intra-Syrian consultations that were held in Moscow."

The Syrian talks in the Russian capital has been the first attempt to focus on Syrian reconciliation since January 2014, when a UN-backed conference on the Syrian conflict was held in Geneva, Switzerland, failing to yield significant results.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoubi said earlier in February that Moscow was the only suitable venue for the talks and noted that these negotiations had been held behind closed doors, unlike the ones in Geneva when media presence was used to carry out "information attack" on Syria.

Syria is suffering from the internal conflict that began in 2011, with the country's army fighting several opposition and rebel groups. The conflict has claimed the lives of some 200,000 people, according to UN estimates.