BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The UN-Arab League peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, has arrived in Damascus at the end of his Middle East tour to promote a Syrian peace conference. But regional tensions have cast a pall over his mission.

Brahimi met Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, on Monday, but there was no word on whether President Bashar al-Assad would see him. A senior Turkish official says the envoy has not pushed for any deal on his tour. He says Brahimi remains in "listening and watching mode", leaving active negotiating to Moscow and Washington.

Brahimi has been visiting capitals across the Middle East to discuss plans for the Geneva-2 meeting, set for November 23rd. But opposition forces have not yet decided whether they will attend. And Gulf Arab states backing the Syrian rebels have soured on the talks, after Brahimi said on Saturday that Iran should take part.

(Source: CNTV.cn)