Syria Talks

Lowering expectations about his ability to help end Syria’s civil war, the U.N. special envoy announced talks between government and opposition representatives will start on Friday to embark on a six-month process that he hopes will include civil society and women’s groups.

Invoking the need for joint action after the attacks in Paris, foreign ministers of nearly 20 nations agreed Saturday to an ambitious yet incomplete plan for bringing peace to Syria and ending its role as a breeding ground for ISIS and other radical Islamic groups.

The global anxiety sparked by a series of deadly attacks in Paris by ISIS has given new urgency to President Obama’s upcoming talks with world leaders.

Syria as a breeding ground for terrorism moved Saturday to the foreground of a meeting of foreign ministers on the war in that country.