Kerry: "Not on the threshold" of an agreement at next Syria talks

The U.S. believed that the international community is not on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement to solve the Syrian crisis before the new round of Vienna talks, but diplomatic means cannot be abandoned, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

"I cannot say this afternoon that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no. There remains a lot of work to do," Kerry said during a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

"Our hope and prayer is we will be able to find a sensible way forward," he said. "We have a responsibility not to dig in our heels but to take the next step forward."

His comments came as he prepared to head to Vienna for the international talks on Syria.

The Vienna talks, bringing together representatives of 17 countries and other international bodies, will kick off a new round of negotiations this Saturday.

The meetings are aimed at starting a political transition process which is believed critical to stop the civil war in Syria.

"The walls of mistrust within Syria, within the region, and within the international community, are thick and they are high," Kerry said.

"But those walls will never be breached unless we make a concerted and creative effort to surmount them. Our meeting at the end of October showed that the agreed basis for action is much wider than many had supposed."

Kerry underscored progress made in the recent round of talks last month, but says divisions remain with Russia and Iran over the future of Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry repeated the U.S. still see that only with Bashar al-Assad's departure can make "peace" and the defeat of Islamic State militant group possible. Enditem