Skip to main content

U.S., Russia see Syria arms deal aiding peace talks


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) sits with U.N. Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi (C) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they each make a statement to the press after a meeting discussing the ongoing problems in Syria. (Reuters)
Reuters, Geneva/Beirut
Russia and the United States agreed on Friday to push again for an international conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war as talks on removing chemical weapons raised hopes for broader negotiations.
After a further meeting Geneva to discuss Moscow’s plan for securing poison gas stocks in order to avert U.S. air strikes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said they would work together to end a conflict that has divided the Middle East and the world’s major powers.
They would meet again in about two weeks, around Sept. 28 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and hoped progress in Geneva in the coming day on a chemical weapons disarmament deal would help set a date for a peace conference.
“We are committed to trying to work together, beginning with this initiative on the chemical weapons, in hopes that those efforts could pay off and bring peace and stability to a war-torn part of the world,” Kerry told a joint news briefing.

Comments