Russia urges political settlement in Syria, allocates funds for refugees

Only political and diplomatic methods could settle the crisis in Syria and stabilize the situation in the region as a whole, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

During a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, Moscow urged preparations for the international conference on Syria be completed, the ministry said in a statement.

The two diplomats met on fringes of the 68th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Lavrov, who also met U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, promised Russia would allocate 10 million U.S. dollars in aid for Syrian refugees and displaced persons.

The Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011, prompted a massive influx of Syrian refugees into neighboring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

The Russian financial contribution will be split between the Jordanian and Lebanese governments.

According to UNHCR, the total number of Syrian refugees has reached 2.6 million, most of them in Jordan and Lebanon.