"I cannot say this afternoon that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no. There remains a lot of work to do," Kerry said during a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
"Our hope and prayer is we will be able to find a sensible way forward," he said. "We have a responsibility not to dig in our heels but to take the next step forward."
His comments came as he prepared to head to Vienna for the international talks on Syria.
The Vienna talks, bringing together representatives of 17 countries and other international bodies, will kick off a new round of negotiations this Saturday.
The meetings are aimed at starting a political transition process which is believed critical to stop the civil war in Syria.
"The walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, and within the international community, are thick and they are high," Kerry said.
"But those walls will never be breached unless we make a concerted and creative effort to surmount them. Our meeting at the end of October showed that the agreed basis for action is much wider than many had supposed."
Kerry underscored progress made in the recent round of talks last month, but says divisions remain with Russia and Iran over the future of Syria's Bashar al-Assad.
Kerry repeated the U.S. still see that only with Bashar al-Assad's departure can make "peace" and the defeat of Islamic State militant group possible.
Xinhua -china.org.cn
13/11/15
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President Bashar Assad "has to go" as part of a transition in Syria, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Friday on the eve of the Syrian talks in Vienna...
ReplyDelete"Bashar al-Assad has to go as part of the transition in Syria, but we recognise that if there will be a transition he may play a part up to a point in that transition," Hammond said in Prague.
AFP
Syria talks result in 'concrete calendar' leading to elections: German FM...
ReplyDeleteWorld diplomats seeking an end to Syria's war will meet again in "approximately one month" to review progress towards a ceasefire and the start of a political process, said an official statement Saturday.
The 17 countries, European Union, United States and Arab League meeting in Vienna agreed on a set calendar for a transition government in Syria within six months and elections in 18 months, however the tricky subject of the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remained undecided.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said world diplomats gathered in Vienna had agreed on a fixed calendar for Syria that would see a transition government in six months and elections in 18 months.
"We have agreed that this transition process must be over in 18 months, and will include the creation of a Syrian transition government in six months," Steinmeier................http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/92468-151114-syria-talks-result-in-concrete-calendar-leading-to-elections-german-fm