Fresh diplomatic talks to end the Syrian conflict were to open in Switzerland yesterday, the first since Washington halted negotiations with Moscow earlier this month on efforts to revive a failed ceasefire.
With violence still raging in Aleppo, US Secretary of State John Kerry was due to meet Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and top diplomats from the UN and regional powers in Lausanne, Switzerland.
However, even before the talks began, Lavrov appeared to be dampening down hopes of a breakthrough with Russian news agencies on Friday quoting him as saying he had no “special expectations” for the latest diplomatic effort.
And a French diplomatic source told reporters: “When you see the results from the previous efforts, quite frankly I’m a bit skeptical about the next ones.”
However, a senior US official, traveling with Kerry, told reporters that the talks were designed to explore ideas for ending the conflict not to produce an immediate breakthrough.
“I think we need to see what happens in the room to determine whether this is the beginning of a new process that continues in this format or not,” he said.
With no let-up in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s onslaught on eastern Aleppo, the sides will look at how to revive a short-lived ceasefire.
Moscow and Washington hammered out the agreement before it quickly crumbled last month amid the ferocious assault on the rebel-held part of the city, backed by Russian air power.
The offensive has sparked accusations of potential war crimes from the West.
Lavrov also insisted on Friday that Russia did not plan to present new initiatives on ways to resolve the conflict.
Instead he said Moscow would call for “concrete steps” to implement earlier UN resolutions and the now defunct US-Russia ceasefire deal.
Kerry and Lavrov were to be joined in Lausanne by UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, along with the top diplomats of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — all backers of Syrian opposition forces.
Iran, a key supporter of al-Assad’s regime, has said its Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif would take part as well.
The US official told reporters that Egypt, Iraq and Jordan would also be represented.
Kerry was then due to head to London, where he is likely to meet up today with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany.
However, hopes were low that the talks could lead to a breakthrough in resolving the five-year conflict that has claimed about 300,000 lives.
Some experts think Russia might be playing for time as it seeks to solidify its positions ahead of the US presidential elections, now only weeks away.
“The Russians are seeking to maximize their advantage before [US President Barack] Obama’s successor — probably [Hillary Rodham] Clinton — steps in with a likely firmer approach to Syria,” said Karim Bitar, a researcher at the Institute for International and Strategic Affairs think tank in Paris.
In Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said Russian and Syrian warplanes again pounded opposition-controlled eastern districts on Friday.
The intensified bombardment has put yet more strain on rescue workers and medical staff in the besieged east, home to an estimated 250,000 people.
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