Kerry: ‘Clarity’ achieved with Russia on Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “have achieved clarity” on a path to restore a truce in Syria but details remain to be worked out.

After meeting off-andon with Lavrov for nearly 10 hours in Geneva on Friday, Kerry said the “vast majority” of technical discussions on steps to reinstate a ceasefire and improve humanitarian access have been completed. Kerry says experts will remain in Geneva with an eye toward finalizing the unresolved steps in the coming days.

Lavrov echoed that, saying “we still need to finalize a few issues” and pointed to the need to separate fighters from the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al-Qaida, from U.S.backed fighters who hold parts of northwest Syria.

Lavrov insisted that a resumption of U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and the U.S.-backed opposition that were suspended in April should help reduce hostilities that have flared in recent months.