BRUSSELS, October 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Defense Minister met with his US counterpart Wednesday to discuss Syria and security issues on the sidelines of a NATO-Russia meeting.
“We have things to talk about. Our last meeting was not that long ago, but a great many significant events relating to Syria have taken place over this time,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
He made the comments during a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the sidelines of the NATO-Russia Council session in Brussels.
The comments come against a background of uncertainty about whether an international initiative to get the Syrian government and opposition groups around a negotiating table, Geneva-2, will succeed.
The Syrian government last week told journalists in Moscow that Geneva-2 would start on Nov. 23, but the UN is the agency that sets the date, and leading opposition groups remain reluctant to take part.
According to UN statistics, over 100,000 people have died in the 2 ½ year long civil war in the Middle Eastern country. The number of refugees caused by the conflict hit 2 million in September, the UN said.
