Kerry says Syria meeting produces ideas, not agreements

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, attend a bilateral meeting where they discussed the crisis in Syria, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Pool Photo via AP)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a nine-nation meeting hasn’t agreed on any concrete action to stop the violence in Syria.

He says several new ideas are being explored.

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

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

Kerry says contacts among foreign ministers would continue in the coming days.

He describes Saturday’s talks as a “brainstorming session.”

And he says that while nations want a new diplomatic strategy, “nobody wants to do this in a sloppy way.”