Syria peace talks: US and Russia make progress over who is eligible to join next week's negotiations

Both sides agree that Isis, and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat al-Nusra are common enemies

US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting about Syria, in Zurich, Switzerland (AP)

John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov are locked in discussions over future talks, the US Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister attempting to resolve differences over who is eligible to join peace negotiations over Syria next week.

By Wednesday night, some small agreement between the old enemies had emerged. Mr Lavrov said Russia would co-ordinate humanitarian assistance to Syria with the coalition lead by Washington. Both parties agreed that Isis, and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat al-Nusra were enemies.

But that was where the agreement ended. Mr Lavrov said neither side could reach a deal over practical joint action to fight in Syria, the sticking point – as always – likely to be the regime of Bashar al‑Assad.

“The US side has a number of proposals which are moving in the right direction. But we think that practical implementation of joint actions and labour division still remain our tasks,” Mr Lavrov said.

The profound differences have threatened to delay the start of the UN-led negotiations. The State Department said the two men had discussed plans for the negotiations that the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, hopes to convene in Geneva on Monday.