US, Iran and Russia Meet Before Syria Talks in Vienna

The United States Secretary of State John Kerry met separately with his Iranian and Russian counterparts, Javad Zarif and Sergei Lavrov, in Vienna on Thursday, ahead of international talks on Syria that will be held tomorrow.

The top U.S. diplomat has called these talks the "most promising" opportunity in years to end the country's "nonstop horror." Talks come after two days of diplomatic efforts that brought all the major international players together in the same room for the first time.

The U.S. and its allies are conducting a military campaign against the Islamic State extremists and Russia is doing the same but in support of President Bashar al-Assad, he now has the Persian government on his side as well.

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Earlier this month, Moscow resumed talks with Washington on air safety in Syria in order to avoid accidental collisions, as both countries have been carrying out separate bombing campaigns in the war-torn nation. They are now having military talks to ensure the safety of coalition air crews.

Russia launched a major air campaign against foreign-sponsored terrorists in Syria on September 30 upon the request of the Syrian government, a fact affects the interests of Washington, which has led airstrike campaign in the Arab nation for over a year.

The U.S. opposes Moscow’s support of President Assad and has ruled out any co-operation with Russia, however the U.S has decided to work on air safety procedures with Russia.

According to official sources, since March 2011 when the conflict erupted, about 250,000 people have lost their lives and millions more been displaced by the turmoil in Syria.