The U.S. and Russian Federation said they made progress toward a new cease-fire in Syria’s civil war but had no breakthroughs after nine hours of talks in Geneva, underscoring the deep differences that remain in bringing a lasting settlement to the country’s bloody conflict.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference following a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on August 3, 2015 in Doha.
“We’re not going to rush to an agreement until it satisfies fully the needs of the Syrian people and the ability of the global community to address them”, Secretary of State John Kerry said after more than nine hours of talks here with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov echoed that, saying “we still need to finalize a few issues” and pointed to the need to separate fighters from the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al-Qaida, from USA -backed fighters who hold parts of northwest Syria.
They also indicate that separating US-backed rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front has been one of the sticking points in the talks.
“I don’t see any possibility of assuring a really durable, full-fledged ceasefire without the separation of healthy opposition forces from terrorists”, Lavrov told journalists.
For his part, Lavrov hailed the talks with his American counterpart saying that the two sides have now minimized the differences between them and narrowed their vision for a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.
The US has insisted that the Syrian regime air force, which has dropped barrel bombs and chlorine on residential areas, be grounded but Lavrov said on Friday that was not the goal.
The two top diplomats also said that experts from their respective countries would meet in Geneva in the coming days to conclude the few remaining technical issues and to clarify the details of what had been agreed on Friday. “I’m grateful that Sergey Lavrov and I were able to work together with other colleagues in the worldwide community through the global Syria Support Group”. The Front for the Conquest of Syria formally split from al-Qaida last month and changed its name from Jabhat al-Nusra.
“We have continued our efforts to reduce the areas where we lack understanding and trust, which is an achievement”, Lavrov said.
This yielded tangible progress for the Syrian people well into March, and had given unprecedented momentum to intra-Syrian talks seeking to broker a political end to the five-year conflict.
The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power.
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Kerry said the Syrian regime “forced the surrender” of Daraya in contravention of the February cessation of hostilities agreement, but Lavrov said the local accord was an “example” that should be “replicated”.
