Two previous rounds of talks on Syria in 2012 and 2014 agreed on the principle of forming an interim unity government and sidelining Assad.
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The meeting came as at least 50 people were killed and 200 wounded in airstrikes and missile attacks by Syrian regime forces on a rebel-held town near Damascus.
Diplomatic initiatives to reach a political solution to the Syrian civil war are set to intensify as the foreign ministers of a dozen countries meet in Vienna Friday for unprecedented talks with a few regional powers playing a role for the first time.
Since the start of Syria’s unrest four years ago, his future has been a stumbling block to all efforts aimed at ending the fighting.
“My honest hope is that they will really address this issue with a sense of flexibility, whatever differences they may have in their political views, in their approaches. They should be united”.
The key global players in the conflict remain bitterly divided over the question of Assad.
Iran’s support for Assad, however, is in part motivated by his identity as an Alawite: a sect of Shia Islam that allies his government with the Shia government in Tehran.
Without naming the individuals he had met, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed the meetings took place in Moscow and Cairo, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.
Thus, convincing Iran and Saudi Arabia to sit down at the same table was an accomplishment in and of itself, United States officials say.
Representatives from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, the European Union and possibly other Arab states, were expected to attend Friday’s talks.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, while warning against expectations of an immediate solution, has described the talks as “the most promising opportunity for a political opening we have seen”.
Syria alleges Saudi Arabia has no business at the talks in Vienna due to problems it now faces within its own country.
Both Iran and Russian Federation think Assad should be able to stand for reelection so Syrian people can decide his fate.
However, a spokesman for Syrian forces fighting against President Assad said Iran’s participation in the Vienna talks could make it more hard to reach a political solution to the crisis. “And we are ready to support it not only militarily but politically as well”.
Nevertheless, a commitment to a defined time limit for a transition would amount to an important new undertaking by Assad’s closest ally, providing a potential basis for future diplomacy at a time when Assad’s position has been strengthened by Russia’s decision to join the war on his side. It’s unlikely it will be clear right away whether they will be willing to use that influence to hasten this political transition, that continues to be up in the air but we’ll see.
According to Clapper Putin was “very impulsive and opportunistic” as he increased Moscow’s support for Assad in Syria’s civil war.
“They are neighbours and they have every reason to agree”, he said in a telephone interview with AFP, asked about the prospects of wider talks encompassing conflicts in Yemen and Iraq.
“What his long term plan is, I’m not sure he has one”, Clapper said.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry talks to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Vienna on Friday.
