Friday, October 30, 2015
Bloomberg News (TNS)
BUDAPEST, Hungary
Top diplomats gathered in Vienna for the most-ambitious attempt yet to end Syria’s four-year civil war, with host Austria hailing the presence of Middle Eastern powers whose fierce rivalry has fueled the conflict.
“It’s decisive that all superpowers, as well as the regional powers with an interest there, are sitting at the table,” Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told reporters in the Austrian capital Thursday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. “Just weeks ago, it seemed that Saudi Arabia would never sit at the same table as Iran, that Russia and the U.S. would never come together. It’s big progress that these talks are taking place.”
Talks were planned to continue into this evening.
Few are expecting any major breakthrough.