AP, Vienna :
Foreign ministers from more than a dozen nations have begun meeting in Vienna seeking to find a way to resolve the conflict in Syria.
Overshadowed by Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, the diplomats started discussions aimed at charting a path for a cease-fire and a political transition in Syria to end the country’s devastating war.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the attacks in Paris made it all the more necessary for the international community to find a common approach in Syria and terrorism. The foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan and Saudi Arabia echoed Fabius’ sentiments.
The second such gathering in two weeks comes as Islamist rebels suffer a number of setbacks in Syria and Iraq at the hands of Assad’s army helped by Russian air strikes, and Kurdish forces backed by the US.
Before leaving for Vienna, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that a quick breakthrough was unlikely in the talks which bring together key players like Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UN special envoy Steffan de Mistura.
“I cannot say… that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no,” said Kerry, who arrived in the Austrian capital on Friday afternoon for preliminary talks with his Saudi, Turkish and UN counterparts.
“The walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, within the international community are thick and they are high.”
In over four years, fighting between Assad’s regime and rebel groups as well as Islamic State (IS) militants has killed over 250,000 people and forced millions into exile, leaving many of them stranded in neighbouring states.
Foreign ministers from more than a dozen nations have begun meeting in Vienna seeking to find a way to resolve the conflict in Syria.
Overshadowed by Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, the diplomats started discussions aimed at charting a path for a cease-fire and a political transition in Syria to end the country’s devastating war.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the attacks in Paris made it all the more necessary for the international community to find a common approach in Syria and terrorism. The foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan and Saudi Arabia echoed Fabius’ sentiments.
The second such gathering in two weeks comes as Islamist rebels suffer a number of setbacks in Syria and Iraq at the hands of Assad’s army helped by Russian air strikes, and Kurdish forces backed by the US.
Before leaving for Vienna, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that a quick breakthrough was unlikely in the talks which bring together key players like Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UN special envoy Steffan de Mistura.
“I cannot say… that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no,” said Kerry, who arrived in the Austrian capital on Friday afternoon for preliminary talks with his Saudi, Turkish and UN counterparts.
“The walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, within the international community are thick and they are high.”
In over four years, fighting between Assad’s regime and rebel groups as well as Islamic State (IS) militants has killed over 250,000 people and forced millions into exile, leaving many of them stranded in neighbouring states.
