MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov held talks on Monday with new Indian ambassador to Russia Pankaj Saran to discuss the issues related to the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Key areas of bilateral cooperation and acute issues of the international agenda, including the settlement in Syria and Ukraine were discussed during the talks," the statement reads.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 as opposition factions as well as extremist groups such as the Islamic State, an organization outlawed in many countries, including Russia, have fought the Syrian Army in an effort to topple the government of Assad.
Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence militias in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in April 2014. The confrontation has claimed over 9,000 lives, according to UN estimates.