Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday dismissed media reports that Moscow and Washington were engaged in secret negotiations beyond the framework of the Syrian talks in Geneva.

"There are no secret talks going on between Russia and the United States," he told a news briefing.

"Attempts to declare that there is some secret communication channel and that within this channel someone had promised to decide the fate of Assad (Syria's President Bashar al-Assad) bypassing the framework of the Syrian talks, are a lie."

"I believe that this is an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution ... Only the people of Syria will decide the destiny of Syria," Lavrov added.

By Reuters