Syrian conflict: main powers still divided over Assad’s fate
Vienna (AsiaNews/Agencies) – No agreement has been reached to end the Syrian conflict. The ‘odd quartet’ (United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia) met yesterday in Vienna (Austria) to no avail. The fate of Syria embattled president, Bashar al Assad remains the main stumbling block.
After the Vienna meeting on Syria, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that he and his fellow participants had not reached a consensus on the political fate of Bashar Assad. However, the four countries agreed to keep consulting one another on Syria.
The Vienna meeting took place three weeks after Moscow took centre stage by launching a bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in support of Assad.
The Vienna talks brought together Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry with Saudi Arabia’s Adel Al-Jubeir and Turkey’s Feridun Sinirlioglu.
The United States and Russia have locked horns over Syria, but the four-power meeting appears to be the first attempt to find an international solution to a war that has already killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov reiterated the need to ramp up the fight against terrorism in Syria and the need for a political solution.
Meanwhile, Russia and Jordan have agreed to “coordinate” their military actions in Syria and set up a “mechanism” to facilitate that end.
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