Russian Deputy Foreign Minister meets with Syria's Assad, following earlier talks with Syrian opposition members in Istanbul.
President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday met a top Russian envoy who said Moscow is hoping to relaunch peace talks for the war-torn country and could host a Syria-US meeting.
After meeting Assad, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying that he "was in contact with our American partners."
"If Syrians want to meet in Moscow, then we will discuss this issue with the US side and others," Bogdanov was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
"We have proposed that the Syrians come to Moscow to discuss political possibilities to resolve the crisis," he added.
Russia is pressing a bid to restart Syria talks that would include meetings between government officials and members of the opposition.
Assad said he backed the efforts of Syria's Russian ally.
Syria backs "positively the efforts by Russia to find a solution to the crisis," Assad said, quoted by the state news agency SANA.