VIENNA — Foreign ministers from 17 nations, including those arming opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, were able to reach several points of agreement after seven hours of difficult talks here that included arch rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia for the first time.
But stark disagreements, including over whether Syria’s Bashar al-Assad should be allowed to stand in any new elections, remain unresolved, the ministers acknowledged, and plans to include Syrian government and opposition representatives in future rounds of talks, in as early as two weeks, are likely to make the diplomatic path ahead even more difficult.
