Russia extended an invitation to Iran on Monday asking the nation to join U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and top European and Arab diplomats in seeking an end to the Syrian civil war. The talks, which are held in Vienna, have thus far excluded Iran, who backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Talks in past weeks have remained divisive, with the United States and allies saying Assad would need to leave power at the end of a political transition process; Russia and Iran disagree. With Iran in attendance, peace talks are expected to continue on Friday and expand to additionally include Britain, France, Germany, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.
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