America and Russia are back to talking about how to fix Syria


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Syria negotiations resumed between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Saturday following the breakdown of a cease-fire deal the United States and Russia reached in early September.
Joining the conversation this time are foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, regional powers which — like the two major players — find themselves supporting opposite sides of Syria's civil war.
"We've asked countries to come, having done some thinking, about a realistic way forward given the differences represented in the room," said a U.S. State Department official, cautioning that expectations of a quick solution are not prudent: "This is going to be, as it has been now for several years, a very difficult process."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Chairman Jordan
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 23, 2023
Daily Briefing Sen. Bob Menendez rejects calls to resign following indictment, Ukraine launches missile attack on occupied Crimean city, and more
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs say
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
The US will soon finish destroying its last chemical weapons
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
Putin and Prigozhin offer rival explanations for Wagner's brief rebellion
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
The future of the Wagner Group is murky
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner Group stops armed rebellion toward Moscow
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published