Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann urged a diplomatic solution to the ongoing war in Syria.

He said all parties should sit at the negotiating table with the participation of President Bashar al Assad.

The talks should be held under the auspices of the United Nations.

He said the talks will be hard, linking the Syrian stalemate to the crisis of refugees in European states.

Austrian Minister for European, International and Integration Affairs Sebastian Kurz has previously called for Assad's participation in parleys meant to settle the Syrian dispute.

The unrest in Syria began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The conflict gradually morphed from prominent protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges.

Hundreds of people were killed in the Syrian civil war.

Source: MENA