U.S. hopes to reconvene new Syria meeting by next week

Officials said the two senior officials were trying to find common ground between Washington and Moscow in their discussions about Syria’s political future. The US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been adamant that Syria’s president is unfit to lead as civil war erupted under his watch.

Kerry would not be drawn on whether, or when, Iran might be drawn into the process. “We look forward to expanding to countries that have a great deal of concern about this”.

Government forces concentrated in Damascus and the centre and west of Syria are fighting the jihadists of Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, as well as less numerous so-called “moderate” rebel groups, who are strongest in the north and east. These groups are also battling each other.

Last month, Moscow stepped up its military presence in Syria and launched a military campaign aimed mainly against Western-backed rebels although it initially said it targets the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.

According to Lavrov, the format of talks on Syria should not be “endlessly extended”, although it could “reasonably” involve about a dozen states and organizations, including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Kerry and Lavrov were joined in Vienna by their counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

“I hope that with Russian pilots’ help, our military will advance and defeat terrorists so that we could return to our homes”, said?hmad Attan, a camp resident who served in the Syrian military and was wounded in fighting. After meeting Assad, Putin spoke by phone with the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Kerry said during a Thursday appearance with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “Thats what we are working towards”.

Russia’s defence ministry said Thursday it had struck 72 “terrorist” targets in Syria over the past 24 hours, claiming to have destroyed the combat capability of the main terrorist groups operating in the country. With the enhanced insurgent firepower and steadily rising Russian airstrikes against the govt’s opponents, the Syrian conflict is edging closer to an all out proxy-war between the USA and Russia.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told journalists the US viewed “the red carpet welcome for al-Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own people, as at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria”.

Mr. Kerry ran through a list of items regarding Syria on which the United States and Russian Federation agree, and a few of those on which they continue to have differences.

Russia has rejected Western calls for al-Assad to step down, saying Syria’s leadership can only be decided by the Syrian people via elections, and in the clearest sign of its backing, Russian President Vladimir hosted him in Moscow this week. He talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, and plans to go to Amman for a Saturday meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Human rights groups say barrel bombings by the regime are the number one killer in the four-year war, claiming more civilian lives than IS attacks. “We believe that it is essential for all countries to focus efforts against [ISIS], and any extremist element that is unwilling to be part of a peaceful democratic solution”, Kerry said.

He said a few proposals might be put on the table in the coming days that would help stop the unrest.