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              Kerry Presses US-Russian Plan for Syrian Peace Talks

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet in Jordan Wednesday with
   top diplomats from 10 other nations as part of a U.S.-Russian push to
   end Syria`s civil war.
   Kerry will address the Friends of Syria, a group of countries that back
   the Syrian opposition, as he tries to build consensus for a proposed
   international peace conference.
   He and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov want to bring together
   the opposition and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad`s government for
   talks on a new transitional authority to end more than two years of
   fighting.
   Senior U.S. analysts describe the meeting Wednesday in Amman as part of
   a broader U.S. effort to work with allies on the Syrian conflict.
   Jordan says top envoys from Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as well
   as Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will attend
   the meeting.
   A senior U.S. official told reporters the talks will include many of
   the same foreign ministers who met in Istanbul last month to voice
   support for the opposition and Mr. Assad`s departure.
   The official voiced certainty that the meeting also will address the
   Syrian refugee crisis, which the United Nations says has forced 1
   million Syrian civilians into makeshift camps on the borders of
   Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.
   Organizers want the proposed Syrian peace talks to take place next
   month in Geneva. Neither the government nor the opposition has
   committed to attend, and analysts say it is far from certain the talks
   will soon take place.
   The issue of Iran`s involvement in the proposed meeting has divided the
   United States and Russia. Moscow says Iran should take part, while the
   United States has in the past objected to Iranian involvement.
   However, U.S. officials say no delegations have yet been ruled in or
   out of the conference. France said last week it does not want Iran
   there.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-presses-usrussian-plan-for-syri
   an-peace-talks/1665811.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-presses-usrussian-plan-for-syrian-peace-talks/1665811.html