MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen discussed urgent de-escalation tasks in Syria amid large-scale bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the parties' meeting in Geneva.

"The sides discussed in detail the current situation in Syria and the Middle East region amid the large-scale bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone. They noted that apart from the urgent task of sustainable de-escalation of tension on the ground in and around Syria, the tasks of providing comprehensive humanitarian support to the needy civilian population in the country and Syrian refugees abroad are becoming increasingly important," the ministry said.

According to it, the sides also emphasized the need to continue collective international efforts to promote a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process of crisis resolution based on respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254.