British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday that Russian weapons supplies to the Syrian regime were impeding the search for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"The continued flow of weapons to the (Syrian) regime and the difficulties and disagreements on the attending the Geneva talks don't help at all to resolve this crisis," Hague told journalists here.

A preparatory meeting for a proposed international conference on the conflict in Syria will take place in Geneva next week, the United Nations said Thursday.

"We can confirm that on 5 June 2013 in Geneva, U.S., Russian and U.N. officials will hold a three-way meeting to further the preparations for the international conference on Syria envisioned under the U.S.-Russian initiative," a statement said.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Thursday that he would run in the 2014 presidential poll if that is the desire of the Syrian people, noting that Hizbullah is only fighting in the town of Qusayr, not entire Syria.

"The main battle is in Damascus and Aleppo, not in Qusayr, and Hizbullah has a limited number of fighters, even if they numbered 2,000, but we're speaking of a war involving thousands of fighters," Assad said in an interview with al-Manar television.

The United States said Thursday that Russian arms supplies to Syria's President Bashar Assad "will only prolong the violence" in the war-torn country.

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to comment on Assad's suggestion in an interview to be aired Thursday that his regime has received advanced S-300 air defense missiles promised by Russia.

Germany and Canada on Thursday called on the Syrian opposition to take part in a U.S.-Russian peace initiative after rebels said they would enter no talks until Hizbullah withdraws from the war.

"The best chance for a lasting solution to the conflict in Syria is a sustainable political process," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said during a visit to Canada.

A Tunisian judge on Thursday announced fresh charges against a young Tunisian woman with the topless protest group Femen, as three Europeans began a second night in custody after baring their breasts.

Amina Sboui, better known by her pseudonym Tyler, was remanded in custody and would be charged with indecency and desecrating a cemetery, crimes punishable by up to two years in jail, the presiding judge told Agence France Presse.

Iranian-American citizen Manssor Arbabsiar was sentenced Thursday to the maximum 25 years prison by a U.S. judge who said his role in a bizarre plot against the Saudi ambassador to Washington could not be "tolerated."

Arbabsiar, 58, pleaded guilty last October to conspiring with Iranian military elements to hire assassins from the Mexican drug mafia to kill the Saudi envoy.

Israeli President Shimon Peres has raised the possibility of an interfaith conference on peace during a recent encounter with Pope Francis in Rome, the presidency said on Thursday.

"The issue of a multi-faith conference was raised, and President Peres expressed his belief that Pope Francis can play an important role in progressing peace," the office of Peres informed Agence France Presse in a statement.

The United States warned Israel Thursday that continued settlement activity in east Jerusalem was "counterproductive" to efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Reacting to reports Israel is planning more than 1,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called on both sides to take action to build confidence needed to build a lasting peace.

Attacks in Iraq, including a spate of bombings in Baghdad, killed 26 people on Thursday, officials said, the latest in a spike in violence that has sparked fears of all-out sectarian war.

The unrest pushed the overall number of people killed so far in May above 600, by far the deadliest month in Iraq in at least a year, according to Agence France Presse figures based on information from security and medical officials.