Kerry arrives in Geneva for Syria talks

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of holding up a Syrian ceasefire at talks in Geneva with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday and said the negotiations may have to be reconvened next week.

“We’re thinking of maybe calling it a day, maybe meeting next week,” Lavrov told reporters waiting for a potential agreement to be announced at a news conference between the two diplomats.

Asked if Russia had approved a text of an agreement, Lavrov said: “We are there, I don’t know where our friends are, but I believe it’s important for them to check with Washington.”

A senior U.S. administration official said Kerry was discussing the proposals with colleagues in Washington.

“Those discussions are ongoing and when we have more to say we will,” he said.

Earlier, the U.S. official said two sides had made progress on proposals for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria after a full day of talks, but technical details still needed to be worked out.

“We are not in a position right now to say whether or not a final deal can be reached.”

A Russian official said the process was “stuck in Washington.”

“We’re waiting for a reply from Washington. It’s stuck in Washington for more than five hours,” the Russian official said. A positive reply from the White House would not necessarily mean there was a deal, he added.

The United States and Russia have backed opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, which shows little sign of ending after more than five years of violence in which half the pre-war population has been uprooted. Moscow supports President Bashar al-Assad and Washington supports the opposition, saying Assad must go.

Kerry’s meeting with Lavrov is their third in two weeks and they have spoken several times by telephone to try to narrow differences on a Syrian peace plan that has been under discussion since July.

Kerry’s proposal for military cooperation with Russia over Syria has faced resistance from U.S. defense and intelligence officials, who argue that Moscow cannot be trusted.

U.S. officials involved in the talks have accused Russia of failing to provide necessary guarantees to allow for a deal.

Senior State Department officials briefing reporters on Kerry’s flight to Switzerland played down the prospect of a final breakthrough from Friday’s talks, although they said “steady progress” had been made in recent weeks.

They said they believed an agreement was still possible but warned that the talks could not go on forever.

One senior U.S. official said en route to Geneva that while Kerry would try to make progress there, “patience is not infinite” and the United States would not simply keep talking if a conclusion was not reached “relatively soon”.

The officials declined to elaborate on what Washington might do if the talks broke down.

The United Nations said on Friday the Syrian government had effectively stopped aid convoys this month and the besieged city of Aleppo was close to running out of fuel, making the talks even more urgent.

Under the plan being discussed by Kerry and Lavrov, a cessation of hostilities agreement would halt violence between rival forces and open humanitarian corridors.

Russia has insisted that opposition groups must separate from al Qaeda-linked militants in cities such as Aleppo. Washington wants Assad’s air force grounded to stop its attacks on opposition forces and civilians.

The second U.S. official said any agreement with Russia would have to include an end to the siege by government forces and their militia allies around Aleppo and this would be a focal point of Friday’s talks.

The Syrian army secured a road into the government-held side of Aleppo that was captured by rebels last month and was expected to open it soon for civilians, state-owned al-Ikhbariya TV reported on Friday.

(Editing by Larry King)

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kerry-idUSKCN11F0HC?il=0