John Kerry: Aiming for Syria talks in New York this month

Countries involved in the Syrian peace process are set to meet in New York on December 18, but the talks may hinge on efforts to unite Syrian Opposition groups in the coming days, US secretary of state John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Russia, the United States, European and West Asian countries agreed in November on a two-year timeline leading to Syrian national elections, but left many questions unresolved, most notably the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The countries involved in the talks, which also include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey, laid out a plan including formal talks between the government and Opposition from January 1.

Meanwhile, Syria’s rebel and Opposition groups are trying to forge a common stance over negotiations to end the civil war, but the absence of some prominent activists and a main Kurdish force from their meeting in Riyadh shows that unity remains elusive.

Saudi Arabia, a strong supporter of rebels fighting for four years to topple President Bashar al-Assad, is hosting the Opposition this week in the most ambitious attempt yet to find an agreed platform ahead of planned international peace talks.

Bringing the fragmented Opposition together is seen by its backers as a crucial step to end a civil war which started with protests against Mr Assad in 2011 and quickly drew in rival Sunni and Shia Muslim powers across West Asia.

Shia Iran, Mr Assad’s main regional supporter, has criticised the meeting in the Sunni Muslim kingdom, saying it is designed to harm efforts to reach a peaceful solution to a war which has killed 250,000 people and displaced 12 million.