U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says talks between U.S. diplomats and their Russian counterparts for a cease-fire in Syria have been "serious and so far constructive."
Kerry spoke on February 19 during a short trip to London en route to Jordan, where he was due to discuss the conflict in Syria with King Abdullah.
"Everyone recognizes the complexity of this endeavor, and there is certainly a lot more work to do. These discussions have been serious and so far constructive, with a few tough issues still to resolve," Kerry said.
He added, "Working out modalities for a cessation of hostilities in a situation like Syria is a highly technical and detailed process; and that's why our teams are still at it."
Meanwhile, UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said peace talks wouldn't resume in Geneva on February 25 as he had previously hoped.
Speaking to a Swedish newspaper on February 19, de Mistura said that he could not "realistically" get the parties in the Syrian conflict back to the table by then.