Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Syria’s Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad met on Tuesday to discuss the task of concerted action by the international community in fight against terrorism.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two sides “discussed the development of the situation in Syria and in the Middle East region on the whole,” adding “Particular attention was paid to the task of an early political settlement of the Syrian crisis and concerted effort by the international community in fight against a global threat of terrorism.”