Syria talks fizzle amid Russia-US standoff

His comments from Moscow came a day after senior U.S. and Russian officials met in Geneva with U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi in an effort to save faltering talks between the Syrian government and opposition. Brahimi had been looking to the U.S. and Russia to help break the deadlock.

Brahimi met separately with Syria's warring sides on Friday, as the second round of talks aimed at ending the nearly three-year war appeared to be wrapping up with little progress.

Lavrov's deputy, Gennady Gatilov, has also waded into the fray, saying Syria's government would discuss the creation of a transitional governing body if the opposition officially declared its commitment to join the fight against "terrorism" — the term the government routinely uses to refer to the armed opposition.

At a joint news conference on Friday, opposition spokesman Louay Safi and Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad exchanged the usual charges that the other side was sponsoring "terrorism" and deploying foreign fighters to kill Syrian citizens.

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the main opposition faction, submitted a plan Wednesday outlining its vision of a transitional government and its suggestions for how to drive foreign fighters out of the country.

Lebanese Shia Hezbollah militias have flooded into Syria to fight on the part of the Shia-offshoot Alawite government of President Bashar al-Assad, while Al-Qaeda-linked fighters have joined the rebels' ranks — to the dismay of the SNC and moderate armed opposition groups, which are increasingly clashing with the extremist fighters.

The Syrian government has not directly replied to the proposal.

On Friday both sides reiterated that peace talks should continue without conditions, but they had few suggestions on how to end the current stalemate.

“We are not putting conditions in the face of a third round. But so far, we are saying we have not reached results,” Safi told reporters, calling for the international community, including Russia, to push talks forward.

Mekdad defended Russia, the main backer of Damascus, saying, "Russia does not pursue a policy of pressure, as other countries do."

“We are consulting with our Russian friends on all issues,” he said.

The faltering talks come amid a backdrop of heightened violence, with the United Nations voicing concern on Friday over a Syrian government military buildup in the rebel-held town of Yabroud, according to a report from Reuters news agency.

Hundreds of Syrians have fled Yabroud, fearing an attack, a U.N. spokesman told Reuters.

"We have received reports from within Syria that there have been numerous aerial attacks and shelling along with a military buildup around the town, suggesting a major assault by land may be imminent," U.N. human-rights spokesman Rupert Colville said.

Meanwhile, a senior U.N. official in Syria said the evacuation of civilians from the blockaded city of Homs had been put on hold until the fate of detained men from rebel-held areas became clear, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Matthew Hollingworth, the Syria director for the U.N.'s World Food Program, said Friday that dozens of men and boys, ages 15 to 55, who were evacuated from Homs during a days-long truce between Syrian forces and rebels, were still being questioned by Syrian authorities.

Al Jazeera and wire services