U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday called for "localized ceasefires" in Syria ahead of peace talks later this month in Switzerland.
Lavrov and U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi also said Damascus ally Iran should take part in the so-called Geneva II talks due to start in Montreux on January 22, after a meeting in Paris.
However Kerry said Tehran could take part in the talks only if it agrees to the principles set out at the first Syria peace talks in Geneva, including the goal of creating a transitional government.
"Iran has yet to state whether or not it supports implementing the Geneva 1 communiqué," Kerry said.
The leaders said they hoped ceasefires could be in place before the talks, along with plans for prisoner exchanges and the opening of humanitarian corridors.
In turn, Syrian Foreign Ministry warned on Monday against preconditions for peace talks in Switzerland next week, a day after an opposition leader said President Bashar al-Assad's departure was "inevitable".
"Any person who seeks preconditions or mistakes their dreams for reality is leading to the failure of the Geneva conference before it even starts," Syrian state media quoted a foreign ministry source as saying.
The statement came after the Sunday meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria, a grouping of nations that back the Syrian opposition, which the regime terms the "Enemies of Syria".
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