US, Russia make headway on brokering truce in war-torn Syria

Geneva: US Secretary of State John Kerry told press on Friday that talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had made much headway, with minor details remaining to be addressed in view of brokering a new truce for war-torn Syria.

"Today I can say that we achieved clarity on the path forward," Xinhua quoted Kerry as saying.

"We have completed the vast majority of those technical discussions which were primarily focused on making this cessation of hostilities real, and improving the level of humanitarian assistance, thereby getting the parties to the table so we can have a serious negotiation about how to end this war," he added.

Lavrov also confirmed that the long day of meetings in a luxurious hotel in Geneva had enabled both delegations to make progress.

"We still need to finalise minor issues, that is why our experts will continue in Geneva next week," he said.