WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US authorities should engage with all parties participating in the negotiations to resolve the Syrian crisis, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday.
"We have to work with the parties, with the support nations of each party, playing a role with that party, to get them to compromise," Kerry stated in in a speech to Oxford Union in London.
11 May 2016, 15:01 GMT
The secretary noted that Russia and Iran have the ability to influence the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, while the United States and its allies can reason with the opposition.
Kerry added that the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) is working with the parties to the conflict, trying to get them to write the new Syrian constitution.
On Tuesday, the US Department of State said Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss reaffirming the nationwide ceasefire in Syria during an ISSG meeting in Vienna, scheduled for May 17.
