U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday to try to hammer out final details of a cooperation agreement on fighting Islamist militants in Syria. The meeting between Lavrov and Kerry at a luxury hotel on Lake Geneva began shortly after 10 am (0800 GMT). Asked what the main impediment was to a nationwide ceasefire, Lavrov quipped: "I don't want to spoil the atmosphere for the negotiations." By reaching a deal with Russia, which supports Syrian Assad, Washington hopes that it will help launch talks on a political transition in Syria. Separately, Syrian rebels and government forces agreed in a deal on Thursday to evacuate all residents and insurgents from the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, ending one of the longest standoffs in the five-year conflict.

Source: Thanhnien News August 26, 2016 09:00 UTC