US Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov chat before talks with 17 nations, the European Union and United Nations at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna

US Secretary of State John Kerry (center L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chat before talks with 17 nations, the European Union and United Nations at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna, October 30, 2015. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry said on Friday he hoped progress could be made at international talks in Vienna aimed at finding a political solution to Syria’s four-year-old civil war but it would be very difficult. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool