Kerry, diplomats agree to Syria transition plan

Syria as a breeding ground for terrorism moved to the foreground of a meeting of foreign ministers on the war in that country, with participants linking the devastating shooting and bombing attacks in Paris to the Mideast turmoil and the opportunities it gives for terror.

The Paris attacks shifted the focus of negotiations in Vienna from the detail of which organizations would count as opposition groups rather than terrorist ones, and could therefore take part in a political solution in Syria, to defeating Islamic State militarily, diplomats said. With just two weeks elapsed since the Syria talks first convened, it could mark a significant advance, if successful.

In a joint statement, the countries involved in the talks - including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - laid out a plan including formal talks between the government and opposition by January 1.

The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, is to begin immediate work on determining who should sit at the table in next year's talks, which are meant to establish a "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian" transitional government within six months ahead of UN-supervised elections within 18 months. "This is a gift to Daesh, to extremism", he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group. Under the terms, the sponsoring countries of each group covered by the cease fire would be responsible for making sure that group upholds it.

Still, Ossi said he didn't expect much from the Vienna meeting "because terrorist groups and a few regional states" have no interest in launching a political process in Syria as they are still "betting on the issue of toppling the Syrian regime by the military force".

Comments from the two also reflected continued differences on the causes of the extremist threat emanating from Syria.

Everyone was very somber and, you know, very determined to make a few headway here in light of - you know, the attacks that really underscored the challenge they're facing, trying to confront the Islamic State and, you know, its effects on the region, but also, obviously, well beyond the region.

On the fate of al-Assad, he repeated that Russian Federation believes "the future of al-Assad should be decided by the Syrian people".

Building on that, this round of talks in the Austrian capital will try to agree on a roadmap for peace that would include a ceasefire between Assad's forces and a few opposition groups.

"We have no doubt that from actions against the Syrian opposition the only result will be a new wave of refugees and we have started seeing that, in fact it has started", Tusk said. The Syrian regime has been diplomatically asking the world to both fight IS and Islamist militant groups who are anti-Al-Assad.

France is part of a US-led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State with airstrikes at its strongholds in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

Al-Assad had warned against what would happen in Europe for the past three years, and Winter advises that Hollande "should change his policy".

Arriving at the talks, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called the Paris attacks, in which more than 100 people were killed, "heinous", saying they violated "all the ethics, morals and religions".