Kerry says Syria meeting produced ideas, not agreements

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — A nine-nation meeting hasn’t agreed on any concrete action to stop the violence in Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday.

He said several new ideas were being explored.

Kerry said the meeting in Switzerland with top diplomats from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and others was candid and constructive. He added that some ideas “might be able to shape different approaches” toward a peace process in Syria.

But he offered no indication of any immediate steps to respond to what he described as “the urgency of Aleppo, the urgency of trying to find something that works other than military action.”

Kerry said lower level officials would be in contact again as early as Monday to flesh out a new agenda, but refused to reveal details of the initiatives.

Kerry described the meeting as a “brainstorming” session that, despite tensions between the parties, had not descended into rancour, with all agreeing on the urgency of the crisis.

He welcomed what he said was “a very candid, first time discussion, as open and free-wheeling as this, with all of the key parties at the table simultaneously.

After the Lausanne meeting, Kerry was to fly on to London on Sunday to brief his European allies on the new diplomatic path, which will focus on a smaller number of main players.