Kerry and Lavrov holding talks on Syria ceasefire deal

  09 September 2016    Read: 1030
Kerry and Lavrov holding talks on Syria ceasefire deal
Washington says snap meeting will cover how to put an end to fighting and further humanitarian aid for Syrian people.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva to discuss a ceasefire deal for Syria.

During the snap meeting, the two diplomats will hold talks on how to put an end to fighting in the wartorn country and further humanitarian aid for the Syrian people, according to the US State Department.

"Their discussion follows recent conversations on Syria and will focus on reducing violence, expanding humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people, and moving towards a political solution needed to end the civil war," spokesman John Kirby said in a written statement.


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The US and Russia have backed opposite sides in a war showing little sign of ending since its beginning in 2011.

Moscow is a leading supporter of the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, while Washington backs the rebels. Both powers have been fighting the common enemy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in Syria.

Al Jazeera`s Jonah Hull, reporting from Geneva, said that the US and Russia have been trying hard in recent months to hammer out a ceasefire deal and pave the way for the UN-sponsored peace talks to start in Geneva.

"On Thursday, it did not even look like Kerry was coming to Geneva at all. The State Department said that the two sides were not close enough to warrant a meeting. It is not clear what changed after that," he said.

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