Major powers fail to agree new date for Syria peace talks
Major power foreign ministers failed to agree a new date to resume Syrian peace talks at a meeting on May 17, and the opposition said it would not come back to Geneva negotiations unless conditions improved on the ground.
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A pessimistic atmosphere pervaded the meeting in Vienna between countries that support President Bashar al-Assad and his enemies, all of which have committed to reviving a ceasefire and peace process that have been unraveling since last month.
In a joint statement after the meeting attended by the United States, European and Middle East powers that oppose Assad as well as Russia and Iran which support him, the powers called for a full cessation of hostilities and access for aid.
In stronger language than in the past, they warned the warring factions that if they repeatedly broke the truce they risked forgoing the protection of the February 27 cessation of hostilities agreement sponsored by Washington and Moscow.
They also directed the UN's World Food Programme to air drop food, medicine and water to besieged communities starting on June 1 if humanitarian access was denied by either side.
But they did not agree on a date for peace talks to resume. The Geneva talks broke up last month after the opposition delegation quit, accusing the government of ignoring the ceasefire, and recent weeks saw an intensification of fighting, particularly near Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told a news conference there was still a strong desire to keep the peace process moving.
