German official says G-8 summit of leaders will pressure Russia to shift position on Syria

BERLIN – A senior German official says the leaders of some of the world's largest economies will press Russia's president to use his leverage as Syria's weapons' supplier to ease the fighting there.

The official said Thursday that leaders at the G-8 meeting next week will push Vladimir Putin to use his nation's "particular influence to contribute to a de-escalation" in Syria's civil war, which the U.N. says has left 93,000 people dead.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity before the summit in Northern Ireland, said the leaders wanted to gather new momentum for a proposed conference on forming a transitional government for Syria.

The official says the issue has become more urgent because of the "increasingly sectarian character" of the civil war, including the increased role of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.