WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — France is hosting a multilateral discussion on Syria on Tuesday, which reportedly excludes Russian participation. Kirby said on Monday that Secretary Kerry would not participate in the meeting either.
"It was a short conversation [between Kerry and Lavrov], and it was largely focused on the issue of political transition in Syria and about the potential for future multilateral meetings," Kirby said.
He added that "multilateral settings" were raised in the talk, including "about potential members, potential participants" in future discussions.
On Friday, the United States announced it was shoring up plans to hold broader, multilateral discussions on Syria as soon as the end of this week.
Over the weekend, Secretary Kerry took part in multilateral discussions on Syria with some of its Middle East partners.
