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US President Barack Obama (R) and British Prime Minister David Cameron meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, May 13, 2013/AFP

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US, Britain say common ground with Russia on Syria

In southern Daraa, which nurtured the Syrian uprising against Assad, the army secured control of the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh, on the route between Damascus and the Jordanian border.

The Observatory said Monday that it has now documented the deaths of some 82,257 people since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, including 34,473 civilians.

Reverberations meanwhile mounted from a string of deadly bombings in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, which the Ankara government blamed on Damascus.

Thousands of Turks took to the streets to urge their government to rethink its support for rebels fighting Assad, warning that the decision had provoked reprisals against Turkey, including the bombings, which killed 48 people.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet Obama at the White House on Thursday, with Syria also topping their agenda.

In another sign of accelerating diplomacy, the Kremlin said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold talks on Tuesday with Putin amid concerns Moscow plans to deliver advanced missiles to the Damascus regime.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will visit Russia on Friday to discuss Syria, Moscow said.

Arrangements for the peace talks sponsored by Moscow and Washington, which could take place later this month, meanwhile remain unclear.

Syrian opposition forces said they will consult with backers Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey before deciding whether to take part in the talks.

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“It is too early to decide whether or not we will take part, because the circumstances of this conference are not yet clear,” the opposition National Coalition’s acting head George Sabra said in Istanbul.

“There is no agenda or calendar yet. The list of participating states and their representatives has not yet been announced.”

The European Union warned Sunday that the humanitarian aid community was at “breaking point” because of the scale of needs created by the conflict.

Humanitarian aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva issued the warning as she visited Syrian refugees in Jordan and unveiled 65 million euros ($84 million) in additional aid.

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