ASSESSMENTS

Searching for a Syrian Solution

Nov 17, 2015 | 09:15 GMT

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (C) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov address the media after the International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna on Nov. 14.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (C) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov address the media after the International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna on Nov. 14.

(VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

In a notable breakthrough in negotiations over the weekend, the International Syria Support Group agreed during a meeting in Vienna to convene Syrian government and opposition representatives on Jan. 1, 2016, in formal negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations. The support group, made up of virtually every direct and indirect foreign state participant in the Syrian civil war, has aspired to find a solution to the destabilizing Syrian civil war, and progress has increasingly appeared to be within reach. However, serious obstacles remain that could rapidly undermine any gains the group hopes to accomplish going forward.

In a notable breakthrough in negotiations over the weekend, the International Syria Support Group agreed during a meeting in Vienna to convene Syrian government and opposition representatives on Jan. 1, 2016, in formal negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations. The support group, made up of virtually every direct and indirect foreign state participant in the Syrian civil war, has aspired to find a solution to the destabilizing Syrian civil war, and progress has increasingly appeared to be within reach. However, serious obstacles remain that could rapidly undermine the gains the group hopes to accomplish going forward....

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