Elusive US-Russia deal on Syria may again prove out of reach
US Secretary of State John Kerry had been expected to travel to Geneva to try to finalize a deal with Russia for a nationwide cease-fire in Syria this week, but hopes for concluding the accord appear once again to have been lowered.
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State John Kerry had been expected to head to Geneva to try to finalize a deal with Russia to restore a nationwide cease-fire in Syria that could be announced later this week, but US officials cautioned Sept. 7 that the prospects for a deal again looked less likely, though they said the situation remains very fluid.
The Russian Foreign Ministry apparently announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kerry would meet in Geneva on Sept. 8-9. But State Department spokesman Mark Toner told journalists that while Kerry and Lavrov spoke by phone for 45 minutes Sept. 7, he had no travel yet to announce.
It was unclear if the conspicuous uncertainty over whether Kerry would travel to Geneva reflects genuine setbacks in the negotiations with the Russians, or is more of a negotiating tactic by one or both sides in the possible final stages of deal talks. "I think it's more needing to make sure we are all on the same page," a US official suggested. It's "still very fluid."
The outlines of what was described as a forward-leaning and complicated agreement between the United States and Russia have been reached, but there are still elements — technical details regarding implementation steps — that need to be finalized, American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are still ongoing, said Sept. 6. When agreeing to something so complicated, unless all the many elements are in place, it is not complete, one explained.
