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US says willing to join Russia in Syria peace talks

The US has said it would be open to the Russian proposal that both countries join a meeting between representatives from the opposition, the Assad regime, and the UN.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi (C) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) arrive at a news conference at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Paris, January 13, 2014. Kerry said on Monday he and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed the possibility of organising ceasefires in parts of Syria and also a readiness by Bashar al- Assad to open humanitarian access corridors. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer  (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17CBL

As a new round of Syria peace talks got underway in Geneva Monday, the United States said it was open to a Russian proposal that American and Russian diplomats join the UN and Syrian parties in a joint meeting.

“We have always supported full implementation of the Geneva  communique, and if additional meetings under UN auspices will help the negotiations move forward, we are very ready to consider these,” a US official in Geneva, speaking not for attribution, told journalists in an emailed statement Monday.

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