U.N. looks for U.S.-Russia understanding to spur Syria peace process

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen attends a session of the peace talks on Syria in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. Syria envoy Geir Pedersen is working on fostering "a deeper understanding" between Russia and the United States to move the Syrian peace process forward, he said in an interview published on Thursday.

In an interview published by the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Pedersen also said he wanted to convene a group of influential states, including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and two groups of countries that have been politically active on Syria, to support the process.