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| Kerry and Lavrov meet to get Syrian peace talks moving | Kerry and Lavrov meet to get Syrian peace talks moving |
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| ZURICH — The fate of Syrian peace talks hung in the balance as Secretary of State John F. Kerry met Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amid uncertainty about which Syrian opposition groups will be invited to join negotiations scheduled to begin in Geneva next week and which will be excluded. | ZURICH — The fate of Syrian peace talks hung in the balance as Secretary of State John F. Kerry met Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amid uncertainty about which Syrian opposition groups will be invited to join negotiations scheduled to begin in Geneva next week and which will be excluded. |
| The two diplomats stopped in Zurich to talk before going by helicopter through the Alps to the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where hundreds of the globe’s rich and powerful are gathering for the World Economic Forum. Kerry plans to discuss with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura whether it is possible to have the Syrian government and opposition groups sit down at the negotiating table on Monday as planned. | The two diplomats stopped in Zurich to talk before going by helicopter through the Alps to the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where hundreds of the globe’s rich and powerful are gathering for the World Economic Forum. Kerry plans to discuss with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura whether it is possible to have the Syrian government and opposition groups sit down at the negotiating table on Monday as planned. |
| “We will see, we will see,” Lavrov told reporters when asked how confident he was that the talks would commence on time. He added that the final decision will be made by the United Nations, which is sponsoring the talks. “It’s mostly for de Mistura, not for us.” | |
| State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry urged Russia to press the Syrian government to allow humanitarian groups to get food and medicine to people in need, particularly those in the rebel-held town of Madaya. The United Nations has accused the government of blocking aid to people living in rebel strongholds. | State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry urged Russia to press the Syrian government to allow humanitarian groups to get food and medicine to people in need, particularly those in the rebel-held town of Madaya. The United Nations has accused the government of blocking aid to people living in rebel strongholds. |
| In Davos, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that 400,000 Syrians are trapped in besieged areas. | In Davos, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that 400,000 Syrians are trapped in besieged areas. |
| [Russian airstrikes put Syrian peace talks in doubt] | [Russian airstrikes put Syrian peace talks in doubt] |
| Kirby said Kerry and Lavrov also discussed the need to restore a cease-fire in Ukraine and other commitments made in an agreement forged in Minsk, Belarus, as well as ways to respond to North Korea’s recently announced nuclear test. | |
| Kerry is one of several senior U.S. officials heading to the annual Davos conference, reflecting the intersection of foreign policy, national security and economic matters. Among the others are Vice President Biden, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. | |
| This year, as last, the war in Syria will be under the spotlight. | This year, as last, the war in Syria will be under the spotlight. |
| A group of 20 countries and organizations, particularly the European Union and the United Nations, is urging the Syrian government to talk with rebel groups as a way to end the civil war and focus on fighting the Islamic State militant organization. But the International Syria Support Group, as it calls itself, has been riven by differences over which of the many rebel groups should be labeled terrorists. That designation means they would be banned from joining the talks and excluded from any cease-fire. The talks are supposed to start a political transition endorsed by the United Nations and eventually lead to the installation of a new government within 18 months. | |
| But there are different lists of excluded terrorists. The list backed by Russia and Iran, the two countries offering military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is far different from the list backed by the United States and Europe. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has its own, narrower list of rebel groups. | |
| The United Nations says it cannot issue invitations until everyone agrees on who will participate, so the talks may have to start later than planned. But a delay could threaten the momentum that Kerry has been driving for, hoping to stop the bloodshed and curb waves of refugees fleeing the region for safety in Europe. | |
| Earlier this week, Ban, the U.N. secretary general, urged the countries attempting to broker the peace talks to try harder so the dialogue can begin. | |
| The Syrian issue is unlikely to be resolved in the snowy resort of Davos. | The Syrian issue is unlikely to be resolved in the snowy resort of Davos. |
| Kerry heads this weekend to Saudi Arabia to attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council and meet with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Part of his task will be to again assure the nervous governments around the Persian Gulf that the United States will not abandon them for a new relationship with Iran. Then he will go to Asia for meetings with officials in Laos, Cambodia and China, where he is expected to address concerns about North Korea. | |
| [Freed Americans reunited with family members] | [Freed Americans reunited with family members] |
| Almost certainly, the week will be far less triumphal for Kerry compared with last weekend, which was marked by the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, which he played a central role in negotiating, and the release, after 14 months of secret negotiations, of five Americans imprisoned in Iran. | |
| Senior State Department officials said Kerry plans to give a speech on Friday focusing on the diplomatic achievements of the Obama administration, particularly in the past year. He will cite the nuclear deal, an international climate change pact in Paris, the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the officials said. | |
| “Frankly, things are not as bad as the press would have us believing,” an aide said in highlighting the Kerry speech. “It has been a very good run over the last six months, and I think he wants to make sure that people are aware of that.” | “Frankly, things are not as bad as the press would have us believing,” an aide said in highlighting the Kerry speech. “It has been a very good run over the last six months, and I think he wants to make sure that people are aware of that.” |
| Read more: | |
| Freed Post reporter seeks to “catch up” with world | Freed Post reporter seeks to “catch up” with world |
| The secret pact between Russia and Syria that gives Moscow carte blanche | |
| Vladimir Putin hints that Russia could grant asylum to Syria’s president | |
| 23 starve to death in besieged Syrian town, medical charity says |