MOSCOW, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The reaction of the Syrian opposition to a proposed international conference on the prolonged Syrian crisis was discouraging, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"We expect various opposition groups (which gathered in Madrid) would react in a constructive way. So far, however, the news is discouraging," Lavrov said during a meeting with visiting Syrian First Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad.
Lavrov said that at the Madrid conference of the Syrian opposition, no decisions have been made about the start of the peace talks.
Moscow has been in constant contacts with its partners, urging them to influence the Syrian opposition hardliners for an early settlement of the crisis, said the top Russian diplomat.
He praised Damascus for its positive response to the Russia-U.S. proposal to organize a conference on Syria.
"The situation urges for an immediate stop of fighting and the start of a political dialogue," Lavrov said, reiterating Russia's stance that the future of Syria must be decided by Syrians themselves.
Mikdad, for his part, noted that the Syrian government opted for a peaceful end to the crisis. He also slammed "those who lean to continuation of the violence and bloodshed in Syria."
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