Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday, the aircraft that he was travelling in landed in the city's international airport.

Lavrov is set to hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem during his stay in Damascus.

This is Lavrov's first visit to Syria since February 2012. On Sunday, Syrian media reported that a Russian governmental delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, had arrived in Damascus. Russia's special presidential representative for the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov, was also featured on the photos released by Syrian media. 

Russia continues to provide humanitarian aid and medical assistance to the Syrian people as the long-running conflict in the Middle Eastern country continues.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib and on conducting joint patrols of the strategically important M4 highway.