Foreign ministers from Russia... Germany... Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries entered New York's Palace Hotel Friday facing an enormous challenge...
Finding a way to end Syria's nearly five-year-old civil war...
The conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and turned an estimated 9 million Syrians into refugees.
The talks come after world powers outlined a plan last month for a political process.
That includes a nationwide ceasefire and six months of talks beginning in January between the opposition and President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad's role in post-war Syria has been hotly debated.
Syria's opposition wants a political transition without him, while Western powers have reluctantly agreed to allow Assad to stay during that transition.
While no breakthroughs are expected in this latest round of talks, diplomats in New York say all parties are determined to find a path to peace in Syria.