Syria peace talks in Vienna

The Syria peace talks is an ongoing phase of international negotiations to resolve the conflict in Syria that was first held in Vienna, Austria, on 30 October 2015, at the level of foreign ministers

The participants are known as the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which consists of: the Arab League, China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, the UK, the United Nations, and the US. Neither the government of Syria, nor the Syrian opposition take part in the talks. Australia, despite being a member of the American-led coalition in Syria, was excluded from the talks pursuant to Russia's objection to Australia's as well as Japan's participation. Iran was involved in such negotiations for the first time.

Participants and discussions
Foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who had agreed at their meeting on 23 October 2015 to hold the talks in Vienna, were said to have spearheaded this round of multilateral talks.

The sides participating in the talks were: the US, UK, Russia, Iran, Turkey, China, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, France, Italy, Germany as well as the European Union, and the United Nations. Iran took part in such talks for the first time; the offer of inviting Iran had been made by Russia and initially met resistance on the part of the United States and Saudi Arabia. No Syrian representative was invited to participate, the main subject matter of the discussions as well as the bone of contention being the future of the Syrian president Bashar Assad.

On October 29, Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran had a bilateral meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Also ahead of the substantive discussions that began on 30 October 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry had meetings with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz, the UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, as well as Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, Sergey Lavrov of Russia, Adel al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia, and Feridun Sinirlioğlu of Turkey.

On 30 October 2015, the ministers participating in the talks signed a joint statement Final declaration on the results of the Syria Talks in Vienna as agreed by participants, which among other things stated that "Syria's unity, independence, territorial integrity and secular character are fundamental". The participants agreed to ask the United Nations to convene Syria's government and opposition to start a "a political process leading to credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance, followed by a new constitution and elections" to be administered under UN supervision; but they disagreed over Bashar Assad's future.

Aftermath
The next round of discussions was scheduled to be held "within two weeks".

In the days immediately after the talks in Vienna on 30 October 2015, Saudi Arabian and Iranian officials exchanged sharp rebukes that questioned future participation of Iran in the next round of talks.

Working groups that convened, on the initiative of the US, in the run-up to the 14 November round of talks reflected tensions between Russia and the US over the leadership role allegedly assumed by the US, the very idea of such groups being criticised by Russia.

14 November 2015 round
On 14 November 2015, against the backdrop of a series of terror attacks in Paris, France, the Vienna talks, involving among others Iran, resumed in Vienna, and lasted for over 5 hours.

The ISSG stated their commitment to ensure a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition based on the 2012 Geneva Communique in its entirety. The ISSG agreed on the need to convene Syrian government and opposition representatives in formal negotiations under UN auspices with a target date of 1 January 2016. The ISSG reiterated that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh) as well as the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, and "other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, and further, as agreed by the participants and endorsed by the UN Security Council, must be defeated". Jordan was given the charge "to help develop among intelligence and military community representatives a common understanding of groups and individuals for possible determination as terrorists, with a target of completion by the beginning of the political process under UN auspices".

The participants disagreed again on the political future of the Syrian president Bashar Assad, with the US and its allies continuing to insist on his step-down.