US and Russia try to resume peace plan for Syria

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, began on Friday in Geneva, a new meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to try to reach an agreement on the Syrian conflict, despite repeated failures in recent months.

For the United Nations, a success in the negotiations on Syria between the United States and Russia will represent "a big difference in terms of humanitarian aid," the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is in Switzerland following the progress of talks .

Washington and Moscow, which for five years supporting opposite sides in the conflict that has left more than 290,000 dead and millions displaced, try to reactivate the final peace plan of 2015 drawn up by the international community, including a lasting truce, an aid plan humanitarian and political transition process between and the moderate opposition.

After two days of meetings by telephone and announcements about a possible face to face meeting, Kerry finally arrived on Friday to Geneva to meet with Lavrov, who was already in the Swiss city.

On the plane, the counselors accompanying Kerry ensure that he would not travel to Geneva if there were a possibility of progress.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the Geneva meeting was announced on Wednesday by the Russian side, but Washington refused until the last minute to confirm the trip of Secretary of State.

Kerry and Lavrov returned to speak by phone on Thursday, mainly on a possible "Russian-American cooperation in order to destroy the active groups in Syria, help solve humanitarian problems and promote a political solution in the Syrian conflict," according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which said the conversation took place at the initiative of the United States.

On Wednesday, in London, the Syrian opposition presented a political transition plan. The situation remains very complicated in the country, mainly in Aleppo (north), where regime forces, supported by the Russian aviation, managed to completely encircle the rebels neighborhoods.

The first stage of the Syrian opposition the project includes a six-month phase in which "the two negotiating parties have to undertake to respect a temporary truce" and the return of thousands of displaced persons and refugees.

During the second phase, which would last 18 months, Syria would be led by a transitional government, which would require "the departure of Bashar al-Assad and his group."

The third and final step would consolidate the changes through "local, legislative and presidential elections" organized "under the supervision and with the technical support of the United Nations."

The plan sets out the steps established in November 2015 by the great powers in Vienna, but did not set the fate of Bashar al-Assad.

The transition plan was presented by the High Negotiations Committee (ACN), which groups the main representatives of the opposition and the Syrian rebellion and maintains contact with the countries of the Group of Friends of Syria.

Among them are responsible for the UK's diplomacy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy, the European Union and France, while the United States will talk with the ACN video conferencing.

"This meeting is very important because it will get convergence points to exit the quagmire 'Syrian," said Minister of French Foreign, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the end of the meeting.