Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L to R) attend a press conference after the meetings of Vienna talks in Vienna, Austria, Oct. 30, 2015. There is still no agreement reached over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yet, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday told reporters after the meetings in Vienna. (Xinhua/Liu Xiang)
VIENNA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Talks in Vienna on Friday failed to find a common ground on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but concluding all the terrorist groups in the country should be defeated.
After hours talks in the capital city of Austria, key players agree to initiate a diplomatic process to find a solution for Syrian crisis, however, in a joint press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry both acknowledged differences remain over the future of al-Assad, but saying the gap would not stand in the way of ending the war in Syria.
Kerry said the current Syrian president should leave his office at an unspecified time, noting U.S. position over Syria has not changed. while Russia stressed that Syrian people should decide the future themselves.
In the mean time of the talks on Friday, Washington announced that the United States is to deploy small amount of special forces to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State.
The military presence of the United States might increase the risk of the confrontation between Russia and the United States as Moscow has launched air strike against the Islamic extremists in Syria for weeks, Moscow noted its air force would continue their operation in the region, while some western states doubt the air-strike is also against some anti-government forces.
Lavrov said U.S. decision to deploy special force in the country would make cooperation between the armed forces of both states more important.
"I am sure that neither the United States nor Russia want it to become a so-called proxy war," he noted.
It's very clear that both of the powers want to avoid the unnecessary but possible military confrontation in the country, seeking to cooperate to secure their interest in the region.
The joint statement released after the talks is meant to advance talks on a new constitution and elections, and also to seek practical modalities for a nationwide ceasefire, however, no timetable is agreed yet.
Kerry said ceasefire does not include fighting against terrorists in Syria.
The statement didn't mention al-Assad, saying Syria's "state institutions will remain intact," and "this political process will be Syrian led and Syrian owned, and the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria." But, the document is first time supported by regional and international major stake holders, including Iran who first time attend the meeting and the gulf key player Saudi Arabia.
China, as a major state, brought Chinese proposal to the negotiation table, proposing ceasefire immediately in Syria while sides should pledge to fight against terrorism in the meeting in Vienna.
China also proposed to initiate the reconstruction in Syria after the war, letting all parties to be benefitted by the end of the conflict.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong who attend the talks noted Syrian people should decide the future of themselves.
However, despite the world major states and regional major countries, no delegation from Syria attended the meeting, top diplomats explained it's still not a good timing to let Syria join the negotiation, saying when sides found enough common ground and established a solid foundation in the process, Syrian government and opposition party could send their delegation to the negotiation table.
The talks would be resumed in two weeks to push the diplomatic process forward, seeking a solution to end years of conflict in Syria which has led to humanitarian crisis in the country and migration crisis in EU.
More than 200,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war and 14 million people forced to flee their homes, according to the UN.
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