A source at Rafik Hariri International Airport told Lebanese Daily Star newspaper that Mekdad took an early Wednesday flight to Moscow from the Beirut airport.

Russia and the US are seeking to broker an international peace conference on Syria in an effort to end the more than two-year-old crisis.

No date has been set for the conference to be held in Geneva next month.

European diplomatic sources said Tuesday the Syrian government has put forward a list of five officials as potential negotiators in talks with the opposition.

They said the list, provided to Moscow in early March, includes Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi and his Deputy Qadri Jamil.

The opposition is scheduled to meet in Istanbul on Thursday to decide on whether to take part in the Geneva II peace conference.

The United Nations-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Tuesday that Syria's government and the opposition are preparing to take part in the internationally-sponsored peace conference.

Speaking to reporters at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Tuesday, Brahimi said that the UN was working to organize the conference in a manner that would lead to the best outcome for the Syrian people.