AFP, Vienna :Talks on a political solution to the civil war in Syria got under way today, with 17 countries plus the United Nations and European Union taking part.Syria itself was not represented, but senior envoys from Turkey, Italy, Britain, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Germany, Qatar, France, the UAE, Oman, the United States and China were present in Vienna.US Secretary of State John Kerry sat at the head of the table for the meeting, the first that brought together all the main outside players in the four-year-old Syrian crisis, including bitter foes Iran and Saudi Arabia.Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was sat almost as far from his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif as was possible at the tight U-shaped table in the conference room of Vienna’s grand Imperial Hotel.Most of the countries were represented by their foreign ministers but China sent vice foreign minister Li Baodong. The United Nations was represented by its special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is acknowledging that progress will be difficult as he launches a marathon day of talks aimed at ending the Syrian War but is expressing some hope of headway.With 19 foreign ministers and other senior dignitaries attending, participants say the fact that the talks are happening despite deep divisions among key players are in themselves a sign of success. But Kerry was cautious Friday ahead of a meeting with Sameh Hassan Shoukry, his Egyptian counterpart”I am hopeful that we can find a way forward,” he told reporters, adding: “It is very difficult.”Meanwhile, fighter jets from South Korea and the United States intercepted two Russian warplanes after they flew near a US aircraft carrier operating off the Korean peninsula, officials said Thursday.White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the USS Ronald Reagan — a massive, nuclear-powered supercarrier — was involved in a military exercise with South Korean partners when two Russian Tu-142 Bear aircraft flew past the ship.”These Russian aircraft were intercepted first by Korean military aircraft that were operating in the region,” Earnest said. Four American F/A-18s were then mobilized.
