Lavrov: Syria peace conference could be derailed

June 21, 2013 at 2:48p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russia’s foreign minister said today that Washington is sending contradictory signals on Syria that could derail an international conference intended to end that country’s civil war, warning that U.S. talk about a possible no-fly zone would only encourage the rebels to keep fighting. Sergey Lavrov also criticized demands that Syrian President Bashar Assad step down.