Kerry to hold talks with allies in London over Syrian conflict
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) sits next to US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a meeting over Syria in Lausanne, on October 15, 2016
US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in London for talks with his European allies over the Syrian conflict after a fresh round of international talks on the Arab nation ended inconclusively in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
Kerry is scheduled to hold talks on Sunday with his French, German and British counterparts about the results of his meeting on Saturday in Lausanne.
The foreign ministers of nine countries attended Saturday’s meeting but failed to agree on a common strategy with Russia to end the conflict in Syria.
Kerry said that there was consensus among parties to the talks on some key concepts. He added that parties would contact each other on Monday to follow up.
"The way it wrapped up was to have several ideas that need to be quickly followed up," he said after talks with Russia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, all participants agreed that Syrians alone should decide their future through inclusive dialogue.
The ministry said that in order for a US-Russian ceasefire agreement to succeed, terrorists must be separated from other opposition groups.
The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to a UN estimate.
EA
