Iran FM to meet Russian, Syrian counterparts on Friday

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will travel to Moscow on Friday for three-way talks with his Syrian and Russian counterparts on the situation in Syria, his ministry said. Zarif will also hold a one-to-one meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said late Wednesday. Iran and Russia are key financial and military supporters of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. More than 300,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests calling for Assad's ouster. Moscow faces growing diplomatic pressure over a Russian-backed Syrian offensive against rebel-held areas of the battleground city of Aleppo that the UN says has left hundreds dead since September 22.