Senior officials from the United States and Russia have started their meeting with international Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in a bid to overcome the last obstacles ahead of Syria peace talks due to start on January 22 in Switzerland, dpa reported.
One of the most contentious issues is whether an invitation to the Swiss talks should also be extended to Iran, which backs the Syrian government, and to Saudi Arabia, which has been arming the rebels.
UN veto powers Britain, China and France, as well as Syria's neighbours, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, are due to join Friday's talks later in the day.