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Saturday 31 Oct 2015 - 15:24 Makkah mean time-18-1-1437
 Vienna (IINA) - Major powers meeting in Vienna for talks on Syria have found enough "common ground" to meet for a new round of talks in two weeks, even as the conflict enters a new phase with the deployment of US special forces in the country.
President Barack Obama has ordered the deployment of fewer than 50 commandos to help coalition forces coordinate with local troops, Josh Earnest, the White House spokesperson, said on Friday, Al Jazeera News channel reported. The troop announcement came as diplomats in the Austrian capital representing 17 countries and the EU agreed to launch a broad new peace attempt to gradually end Syria's long civil war - a declaration that avoided any decision on when President Bashar al-Assad might leave. It is not clear how many rebel groups would agree to a plan that does not result in Assad's immediate departure.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said on Friday a US decision to deploy special forces in Syria would make cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries more important. "I am sure that neither the United States nor Russia want [the conflict] to become a so-called proxy war," Lavrov said after the talks in Vienna. "But it is obvious for me that the situation makes the task of cooperation between the militaries more relevant." Friday's talks included an Iranian delegation for the first time.
Representatives from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, the EU and other Arab states also attended. The participation by Russia and Iran in the attempt could mark a new and promising phase in the diplomacy since those countries have staunchly backed Assad. Any ceasefire agreement that may come as a result of the peace effort would not include the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which controls large parts of northern Syria and has its capital there. "There were tough conversations today," John Kerry, US secretary of state, said on Friday. "This is the beginning of a new diplomatic process."
Kerry acknowledged that those present have major differences on the Assad government. "But we cannot allow the differences get in the way of diplomacy to end the killing." Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign policy chief, said there is "hope" for a political process to advance, saying that those involved in the talks "found common ground" for further discussion. "It was a very long and very substantial meeting. This was not an easy one, but for sure a historical one," she said while praising "those who took difficult decisions" in joining the talks.
Lavrov said those present in the meeting spent a "long time" to push for an inclusive Syrian-led peace process. Among the issues upon during the talks was that ISIL cannot be allowed to reign in Syria, he said. In a rare hint of diplomatic progress, Iran indicated it would back a six-month political transition period in Syria followed by elections to decide Assad's fate, although his opponents rejected the proposal as a trick to keep him in power. In addition to Assad's fate, on which delegates said no breakthrough had been expected, sticking points have long included the question of which rebel groups should be considered "terrorists" and who should be involved in the political process.
HA/IINA
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