Syrian foreign minister visits Russia

Syria's foreign minister arrived in Moscow Sunday on a visit expected to focus on the United Nations probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the situation in the Palestinian territories and other regional issues. Walid Moallem said upon his arrival that Syria expects the UN panel investigating Hariri's killing to deliver an "objective" report, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement posted on the ministry's Web site that Moscow would strongly back the UN probe into Hariri's killing. The top UN envoy for Syria and Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen, will also be in Moscow for talks at the same time as the Syrian foreign minister, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.