Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that extremists within the Syrian armed opposition were blocking the start of dialogue in the crisis-hit country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that extremists within the Syrian armed opposition were blocking the start of dialogue in the crisis-hit country.

"Several days ago we thought that the conditions had become more clear for the sides to sit at the negotiating table and begin discussing the future of their country," Lavrov told reporters after meeting with his counterpart from the Netherlands Frans Timmermans.

"There emerged voices in favor of urgently starting such dialogue, without prerequisite conditions."
However these voices were later silenced, he added.

"Blood continues to be shed and statements are being made which move away the prospect of starting dialogue."
"It seems that extremists who bet on an armed solution to the Syrian problem have prevailed in the ranks of the opposition at this time, including the so-called (Syrian) National Coalition, blocking all initiatives that could lead to the start of dialogue," Lavrov said hours before meeting new US Secretary of State John Kerry for the first time in Berlin.

Other countries with leverage over the Syrian problem seem to "increasingly understand the need to influence both the government and the opposition, to convince them not to put forward unrealistic demands as prerequisites for starting dialogue," the top Russian diplomat added.

Lavrov remarks come a day after he met his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem, who said “the Syrian regime is ready for talks with all who want dialogue… including those who have carried arms”.

In a joint press conference with Lavrov in Moscow, Moallem said: “a governmental coalition was formed to negotiate with the opposition inside and outside Syria,” adding that “we still believe in a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem.