Russia's Lavrov to hold Syria talks in Saudi: official

RIYADH- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected in Saudi Arabia late on Friday for talks about the Syrian conflict, on which Moscow and Riyadh hold diverging views, a Saudi official said.

Lavrov will meet Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Saturday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah “for talks on several issues, with developments in Syria at the top of the agenda,” the official, who declined to be named, told AFP.

Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in the three-year conflict, while Saudi Arabia supports the rebels trying to oust him.