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1st LD: Russia FM says parties speak in favor of initiating political process in Syria as soon as possible -- report

Xinhua, October 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Parties to a multilateral meeting on Syria spoke in favor of initiating political process in the war-raged country as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Saturday.

Participants in the talks held in Lausanne, Switzerland discussed a few "interesting ideas," and they agreed to continue contacts within the next few days "in anticipation of some agreements that will help advance the settlement," Lavrov said, without giving details about the ideas.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the meeting was "very constructive" and "sincere" with consensus reached on several issues, including the need to end conflicts in Syria, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

But the U.S. diplomat also admitted that there were "some tense moments" during their talks, adding that next talks for discussion of following steps were scheduled for Monday.

Also participated in the meeting were foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar.

The meeting was aimed to restart the political process in Syria after a ceasefire agreement reached between Moscow and Washington in September has barely held with each side accusing the other of failing to fulfill its commitment. Endit