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Renewed talks on Syria’s talks made no advance on Saturday.

The discussions in Lausanne, Switzerland ended after more than four hours without a joint statement.

The US convened the talks which were attended by Russia and Iran, the main backers of the Assad regime; Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, who have been leading supporters of the Syrian opposition and rebels; and Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura was also present.

Washington pursued the meeting after breaking off bilateral discussions with Russia, following the Russian-regime bombing which destroyed a UN aid convoy and killed more than 600 civilians in and near Aleppo city in the past month. Moscow promoted the session as a renewal of talks, while the US emphasized that they were now on a multilateral basis.

Despite the supposed suspension of the bilateral approach, Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met one-on-one before the main gathering. The State Department said the 40-minute discussion was “businesslike”.

Kerry said after the sessions that the “brainstorming” had been “constructive” even though it had produced no concrete action. He maintained:

This [was] exactly what we wanted….[It was] a very candid, first time discussion, as open and freewheeling as this, with all of the key parties at the table simultaneously.

He said that “contacts” would resume as early as Monday.

Lavrov, who said before going to Lausanne that he had “no expectations” of results, told Moscow’s news agencies that there was discussion of several “interesting ideas“.

Relief of Pressure on Russia

The session gave Russia some relief from growing international pressure over the siege and aerial assault of opposition areas of Aleppo. France and other countries have accused Moscow of complicity in the Assad regime’s “war crimes”, forcing Russia to veto a UN Security Council resolution for a new ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and suspension of military overflights.

The bombing continued on Friday. Médecins Sans Frontières‎ said Russian and regime warplanes hit four medical facilities, causing severe damage to a major trauma unit, killing an ambulance driver, and wounding two doctors.

The Russians appeared to win a diplomatic victory on Saturday when Turkey shifted toward their position, linking a ceasefire with the removal of the jihadists of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) from Aleppo.

There are few JFS/Nusra fighters in the city after the group left last year. However, Russia has used its call for withdrawal to take the spotlight from demands from a ceasefire including aid and an end to bombing.

UN envoy de Mistura gave the Russians an opening earlier this month when he put out his own proposal for the departure of “about 900 former” JFS/Nusra members from Aleppo. The Syrian opposition condemned the UN envoy for a diversionary step, and foreign diplomats later said that the number of fighters was inflated.

Iran also propped up Russia’s position. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari said:

The talks specifically focused on ceasefire, and the recent truce pact brokered by Russia and the US, its failure and the reasons for its failure, that is the differentiation of terrorist groups, particularly al-Nusra and ISIL [the Islamic State], from other Syrian groups.

We talked at length about the ways for separating these groups, the considered criteria in this respect, and the schedules related to this issue.

European governments, which have been seeking firmer steps against the Russians and the regime, were not at Saturday’s session. They will be joined by Kerry in their own conference in London on Sunday and will reportedly consider limited military options.

President Obama again rejected any US military steps at a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday.

Syrian Military Says It Recaptured Another Village in Northern Hama — But Rebels Say They Took It Back

The Syrian military claimed this afternoon that it has regained another village in its counter-offensive in northern Hama.

A military spokesman said full control was established over Maardas on Sunday, and the Army distributed photographs showing troops in the village.

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However, rebels said later that they had repelled the assault, posting claims and photographs of killed and captured troops.

The Jaish al-Ezza faction said 17 pro-Assad fighters had been killed, while the Free Syrian Army said it was following up with rocketing of Mount Zine el-Abidine.

Rebels had taken towns and villages across a 35-km (22-mile) front from late August, moving within 10 km (6 miles) of Hama city.

However, since late September the Syrian army, pro-Assad militia, and foreign allies — enabled by Russian bombing — have taken advantage of rebel in-fighting to retake some of the villages.

The most significant gain was the recapture of the fortified village of Ma’an last week.

Rebels Push Islamic State Out of Symbolic Village of Dabiq

Rebels have won a symbolic victory in their continued advance against the Islamic State in northern Syria, pushing ISIS out of the village of Dabiq.

The Islamic State holds the view that Dabiq will be the site of the apocalyptic battle between Muslims and Christian infidels. The group named its magazine after the village to promote its views and aims.

Supported by Turkish intervention from late August, the Free Syrian Army and allies have pushed the Islamic State out of much of a 55-km (34-mile) strip along the Syrian-Turkish border.

On Saturday, the rebels closed on the Dabiq pocket, surrounding the village on three sides after the capture of the town of Sawran.

Ahmed Osman, the head of the Free Syrian Army’s Sultan Murad group, said, “The Daesh myth of their great battle in Dabiq is finished.”

A Turkish military source said that while Dabiq was largely under control, Islamic State fighters were still firing from outside the village and some rebels were killed in blasts by landmines.