Kasım İleri
10 December 2015•Update: 11 December 2015
WASHINGTON
Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed Syria talks during a phone call Wednesday, according to a State Department official.
“They did talk about the next step in the Vienna process, to include the possibility of having another meeting here before the holidays,” said John Kirby.
Top diplomats from the U.S., Turkey, Russia, and Saudi Arabia met in Vienna for a second time in October to discuss a way forward for a political transition.
Several European and Arab countries and Iran also joined the second round of talks.
The Vienna talks were pioneered by Russia in hopes of ending the conflict in Syria that has led to the deaths of more than 250,000 victims and displaced more than half of the population.
Kirby also noted the ongoing meeting of several Syrian opposition leaders in Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
“We're very encouraged by the meeting itself, and we're grateful to the Saudis for leading this,” he added.
He also said that Assistant Secretary of State Anne W. Patterson will attend a meeting with Russian and UN officials in Geneva on Friday, specifically “to get at the framework and the architecture for a cease-fire”.
