Russia and Saudi Arabia failed in talks on Tuesday to overcome their differences on the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a central dispute in Syria's civil war that shows no sign of abating despite renewed diplomacy.
Russia is pushing for a coalition to fight Islamic State insurgents -- who have seized swathes of northern and eastern Syria -- that would involve Assad, a longtime ally of Moscow. But, speaking after talks in Moscow, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reiterated Riyadh's stance that Assad must go.