PRESS RELEASE

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Kerry and Lavrov To Meet Saturday in Lausanne

Oct. 12, 2016 (EIRNS)—Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet on Saturday in Lausanne, Switzerland, in an effort to revive the collapsed U.S.-Russian negotiations on a diplomatic solution to the Syria war. Reuters, in reporting on the announcement, noted,

“The resumption of talks, despite the offensive, was a sign of the lack of options facing Western nations over the Syria conflict, where they worry scaled-up arms supplies for the rebels could end up in the hands of jihadist groups.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. Kerry, in announcing the Lausanne meeting, described it as a crisis meeting with “key regional partners” aimed at crafting a “multilateral approach ... including a sustained cessation of violence and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries.”