"There was a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson on September 20, on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The parties exchanged their views on the urgent international issues with focus on the current situation in and around Syria," the statement said.
It also added that the ministers discussed prospects for boosting UK-Russian contacts on various levels in the follow up to a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and UK Prime Minister Theresa May that took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 4.
Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups operating in the country, including the Islamic States, which is outlawed in Russia as well as many countries around the world.
