Putin discusses Syria peace moves with Assad

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad discussed plans for a peace conference and progress in the elimination of chemical weapons during a telephone call on Thursday, the Kremlin said.

It gave few details but said Putin had urged Assad's government to do all it can to alleviate the suffering of civilians and "positively assessed" the Syrian government's readiness to send a delegation to the planned peace talks.

Putin also voiced concern over what he called persecution of Christians and other religious minorities by extremists in Syria, the Kremlin press service said.

On another note, Syrian Information Minister said on Thursday that the opposition has agreed to participate in the Geneva 2 conference upon the orders of its “masters”, describing this act as shameful.

“Those who think that going to Geneva will allow them to control Damascus, are ridiculous and have no value on the political level,” Omran Zoabi said.

International positions:

“Russia calls for an international conference the soonest possible in order to hold a political dialogue that helps settle the Syrian crisis,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, in a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy.

“A political solution to the war in Syria will also lead to stability in the region,” Lavrov added.

For his part, Fahmy stressed that Egypt stands against any military intervention in Syria, calling on all parties to find a political solution to end the Syrian war.

On the field:

A state-run Syrian TV channel said two bombs have exploded near a famous Damascus bazaar, killing at least one person.

The Al-Ikhbariya station said Thursday's explosions close to the Hamidiyeh market in the old quarter of Damascus also wounded seven people.

The TV says one of the bombs was detonated near a souk, killing one man and wounding six people, while the other struck on a nearby street, wounding one man.

The TV also said "terrorists" the term the government uses for rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad fired a mortar round that slammed into Damascus' al-Shaghour neighborhood. No one was hurt in that attack, which the TV says caused some material damage.

Bombs and mortar attacks are not uncommon in Damascus, Assad's seat of power.

AP/LBCI