World Bulletin / News Desk

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he hopes the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council will be able to set a date on Friday for so-called Geneva 2 peace talks on the Syrian conflict.

The five - France, Britain, Russia, China and the United States - are due to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi later on Friday on the sidelines of the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders.

"I hope that we will be able to fix a date this evening for Geneva 2," Fabius said.