Syria talks in Lausanne end without breakthrough
Syria talks convened by US Secretary of State John Kerry in the Swiss city of Lausanne on October 15 evening failed to agree on a common strategy with Russia to end the conflict in Syria, now in its sixth year.
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Kerry hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and seven foreign ministers from the region - from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt - weeks after the collapse of a painstakingly crafted US-Russian ceasefire plan that many saw as the last hope for peace this year.
Kerry told reporters there was consensus on a number of options that could lead to a ceasefire, but conceded that there had been some tense moments during October's talks.
But the meeting failed to come up with a joint statement or a shared vision on how to move forward.
Europe was not represented at the meeting, held in a luxury hotel on Lake Geneva. But France's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Kerry and foreign ministers of like-minded nations planned to meet in London on October 16 to discuss Syria.
Kerry said parties to the Lausanne talks would contact each other on October 17 to follow up.
Since the breakdown of US-Russia cooperation, long the backbone of efforts to end the war in Syria, US officials have worked on a number of ideas.
Although no breakthrough had been expected on October 15, a senior US official said before the meeting that the regional format to the talks could be the basis of a new process.
