Russia says Syria peace talks in Geneva pushed back

MOSCOW — Russia's foreign minister says upcoming Syria peace talks in Geneva have been pushed back for late February.

Sergey Lavrov spoke at a meeting on Friday in Moscow with some opposition groups. Rebel factions fighting to oust President Bashar Assad had declined an invitation to the meeting.

Lavrov says U.N.-mediated Geneva talks, previously set for Feb. 8, have been postponed until the end of the month. He didn't elaborate on the reasons for the postponement.

Lavrov welcomed this week's Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan that brought rebel factions face-to-face with Assad's representatives for the first time in the six-year conflict.

He also said that Russia has floated a draft of a new Syrian constitution in a bid to encourage debate — not an attempt to enforce Moscow's will on the Syrians.