Brahimi in Moscow to talk Syria crisis

The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi has arrived in Moscow in an effort to find a way out of the ongoing crisis in Syria.

Brahimi held a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov upon his arrival in the Russian capital on Saturday. The two are scheduled to attend a joint news conference.

Brahimi’s trip comes a day after the so-called Syria’s National Coalition for Opposition Forces rejected Russia’s invitation to talks aimed at ending the crisis.

On Friday, Russia sent an invitation for Moaz al-Khatib, the head of the coalition, to visit Moscow.

Khatib, whose group is supported by certain Western states and their regional allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, ruled out the Russian offer and called for an apology from Moscow for its support for the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Lavrov has urged the Syrian government to hold talks with opposition groups in order to end the unrest.

On December 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said any decision on ending the crisis in Syria should be made by Syrians themselves and all parties should be included in the process.

Putin called for the establishment of “a democratic order” that “reflects the Syrians’ will” and underlined the need for a political process to establish peace in the Arab country.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Damascus says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence.

The Syrian government also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of armed militants fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.