Syria talks in Lausanne end without breakthrough

Syria talks convened by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Oct. 15 evening failed to agree on a common strategy with Russia to end the conflict in Syria, now in its sixth year.

Kerry was seeking a new path to peace after failing to secure a ceasefire in direct talks with Moscow, one of Syria's key backers, amid mounting international outrage over the Russian and Syrian bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

Kerry hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and seven foreign ministers from the region - from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt - weeks after the collapse of a painstakingly crafted U.S.-Russian ceasefire plan that many saw as the last hope for peace this year.

Kerry told reporters there was consensus on a number of options that could lead to a ceasefire, but conceded that there had been some tense moments during Saturday's talks.

"I would characterize this as an example of what we wanted, which was a brainstorming and a very candid first-time discussion," he said. "A number of ideas came from the number of different ministers as we hoped that might be able to shape some different approaches."

But the meeting failed to come up with a joint statement or a shared vision on how to move forward.

Lavrov, who had said he had "no special expectations" for Saturday's meeting, said ministers had discussed several "interesting ideas", without elaborating.

Europe was not represented at the meeting, held in a luxury hotel on Lake Geneva. But France's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Kerry and foreign ministers of like-minded nations planned to meet in London on Sunday to discuss Syria.

Kerry said parties to the Lausanne talks would...