The U.S. and Russia are seeking to revive Syrian peace talks as President Bashar al-Assad's advance against rebels shifts the focus to the battlefield.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will meet with foreign ministers from Europe and the Middle East in Munich on Thursday after talks between the government and opposition broke down last week and Assad's Russian-backed encirclement of Aleppo stoked the exodus of Syrian refugees.
The talks in the Bavarian capital, which include United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura, are gaining urgency as Saudi Arabia weighs sending special forces to Syria to augment the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants.
Syria's five-year civil war entered a new phase last year when Russia joined the conflict on the side of Assad, whose control had progressively slipped to rebels and terrorist groups.