Russia’s Lavrov says ‘tall order’ to organise Syria talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday it would not be easy to organise peace talks on Syria, calling it a “tall order” after talks in Paris with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The two men met in a hotel where they discussed possible dates and participants in peace talks aimed at bringing together the Syrian regime and opposition to try and end a conflict that has claimed more than 94,000 lives.

It was the sixth meeting between the pair since Kerry took office in February, with the conflict in Syria topping the agenda.

Lavrov said they “took stock today of where we are”, saying the aim was to try to stop the bloodshed in the war, now in its third year.

“We discussed how we can proceed… in our efforts to make this conference happen, it’s not an easy task, it’s a very tall order,” he added.

In their talks on who should take part in the conference, the Russian minister said those countries which took part in a similar peace initiative called “Geneva 1” in June 2012 “I think have been accepted.”

“We believe that this circle could be extended to involve all key outside players who have interest in the situation,” he said.

He did not mention any countries by name, but Russia has been pushing for Iran to be included, although many Western nations remain wary of the idea.

“Both of us, Russia and the United States, are deeply committed, remain committed to trying to implement the Geneva 1 principles which require a transitional government by mutual consent that has full authority in order to allow the people of Syria to decide the future of Syria,” Kerry said.

The two men also expressed concern about any potential use of chemical weapons, after France said earlier there were “mounting suspicions” of the use of such arms.

They were later to meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and Kerry said he hoped they would get “greater clarity on some of the issues to be worked on.”

Top diplomatic staff from the two countries would meet soon to discuss “how this conference could best be prepared for the possibility of success not failure. That’s our goal, and that’s what brought us here to Paris.”