World Powers Confer on Syria’s Political Future Print Comment Share: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and, with back to camera, Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson in Vienna, Oct. 30, 2015. RELATED ARTICLES Monitors: 40 Dead in Syrian Government Missile Attack US: Syria Talks Aim at Future Without Assad Turkey’s Syria Policy Questioned Ahead of Election MSF: Syria Bombings Hit Hospitals Hard, Thousands Displaced Syria: Whose Side Are You On? Pamela Dockins Last updated on: October 30, 2015 8:20 AM VIENNA— Diplomats from 17 countries plus the United Nations and European Union have launched talks in Vienna on Syria’s political future. The meeting, the first of its kind, includes Russia and Iran, two countries that have long backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "There will be no pol...