World leaders in Vienna have renewed their calls for a cessation of hostilities in Syria after meeting with hope to restart peace talks aimed at halting Syria’s ongoing civil war.
The yesterday meeting was led by John Kerry, US secretary of state, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister and Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy to Syria, as well as other leaders from the 17-nation International Syria Support Group. They confirmed their support for an end to the violence and the need for immediate humanitarian access to besieged communities. While the parties involved did not set a date for the next round of peace talks, Kerry said the gathering in the Austrian capital was a step in the right direction.
But Assad, buoyed by military support from Russia and Iran, has shown no sign he is prepared to leave and his forces are still battling for territory.