Lavrov says Syria conference being undermined

Efforts to convene an international peace conference on Syria are being undermined by actions involving or backed by Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Tuesday. "A whole range of actions that have been undertaken, not without the participation and not without the support of our Western partners including the United States and France ... are serving to undermine the idea of calling a conference," Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. He gave few details but referred to the U.N. General Assembly which passed a resolution this month that praised the Syrian opposition and condemned President Bashar al-Assad's forces.