Key Syria players seek path out of war

Major backers of Syria's warring rivals including the United States, Russia and Iran will seek Thursday to narrow divisions over the future of the country and its embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

 The participation of Iran at the international crisis talks in Vienna for the first time is seen as a crucial shift because the key regime supporter was previously excluded.

 The United States and its allies including Saudi Arabia and Turkey have long been at odds with Assad's backers Russia and Iran over if and when the Syrian leader should step down.

 But an exodus of Syrian refugees and the Islamic State jihadist group's sweeping territorial gains have brought signs of a narrowing of differences over a four-year conflict that has cost a quarter of a million lives.

 "Europe's refugee crisis has convinced everyone that we needed a transition phase, that Assad's authoritarianism was the lesser of two evils," said Karim Bitar of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris.

 "Most Westerners have adopted a more realistic stance on Syria and sort of accepted the idea that Assad will remain at the helm for a transition period."

 The stumbling block to a breakthrough could come from US allies such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, he added.