New Syria meeting set for Saturday, Russia says

By Hakan Ceyhan Aydogan and Emel Oz Gozellik

MOSCOW (AA) - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are to meet Saturday in an effort to revive hopes for peace in Syria, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, would also be attended by regional powers.

The meeting should include Russia, the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and possibly Qatar, Lavrov told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in Moscow.

"We would like to have a meeting in this narrow format, to have a businesslike discussion, not another General Assembly-like debate," he said.

The meeting will “consider possible additional steps aimed at creating conditions for a Syrian crisis settlement,” the ministry said.

On Oct. 3, the U.S. ended talks with Russia aimed at reviving a cease-fire following a Russian bombing campaign around Aleppo, where Syrian regime troops are trying to take the city’s eastern districts.