Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone about preparation for an international conference to settle the Syrian conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
The conversation was held on Kerry's initiative, the ministry said Saturday without providing any further details.
A Syrian government representative recently said the Geneva-2 conference, designed to get Syria's government and opposition groups to meet for peace talks, will start Nov. 23. However, only the United Nations has the authority to set the date, and major Syrian opposition groups remain reluctant to take part.
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