Putin must nudge Syria into U.N. peace deal, mediator says

UN Special Envoy to the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura arrives for a round of negotiation with Nasr al-Hariri (not pictured), Head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, during the Intra Syria talks at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Salvatore Di Nolfi/Pool

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura urged Russia on Wednesday to convince its ally the Syrian government of the need to clinch a peace deal to end the nearly seven-year-old war.

De Mistura, speaking on Swiss television station RTS, said failure to make peace quickly through United Nations mediation could lead to "a fragmentation of Syria".