World diplomats agreed Saturday on a path to Syrian elections in 18 months at talks in Vienna driven by a fresh sense of urgency after the Paris attacks, although the fate of President Bashar Assad remained a sticking point, Agence France-Presse reported.

The wave of attacks that left nearly 130 dead in Paris dominated the second round of talks to end the war in Syria, spurring delegations from 20 countries and organisations to find common ground despite deep divisions, AFP said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said delegates had agreed that a transition government in Syria should be set up in six months and elections held in 18 months.

“No one is lying to themselves about the difficulties we are facing, but the determination to find a solution has progressed in 14 days,” since the first round of talks in Vienna, Steinmeier said.

A final statement after the meeting said that the goal was to bring Syrian government and opposition representatives together by January 1.

“This political process has to be accompanied by a ceasefire. That will help to end the bloodshed as quickly as possible and I might add that will help rapidly to define who wants to be considered a terrorist and who is not,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Make no mistake that resolve has only grown stronger in the wake of this unspeakable brutality,” Kerry said of the attacks in Paris which were claimed by the Daesh terror group operating out of Iraq and Syria.

“It is respect for life and for its possibilities that drove our efforts today in Vienna.”

In remarks at the Vienna meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said a comprehensive, inclusive political solution is the only way to end the Syrian crisis, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The political solution, he stressed, must ensure the territorial unity of Syria and meet the aspirations of all components of the community, restoring stability to the country to allow for the return of refugees and displaced people, according to Petra.

In almost five years, the war in Syria has left 250,000 dead, sparked a refugee crisis in Europe and birthed Daesh group whose actions have hit several nations at the negotiating table in Vienna, AFP said.

“The impact of this war bleeds into all nations, from the flood of desperate migrants seeking refuge… to the foreign fighters who make their way into Syria… to self-radicalised fighters living among us, their minds poisoned by Daesh’s propaganda and lies,” said Kerry.

Witnesses said that the gunmen in the Paris attacks had blamed France’s military intervention in Syria against Daesh extremists.

Vowing France would not stop its “international action”, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Vienna that the killings underlined the need to “increase the international coordination in the struggle against Daesh”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed, saying the attacks were “no justification” to ease up on tackling radical groups such as Daesh and Al Nusra Front, affiliated to Al Qaeda, AFP reported.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the countries sitting around the table have “almost all experienced the same pain, the same terror”, citing the recent Russian plane disaster in Egypt and suicide bombings in Beirut and Turkey.

These countries agreed that the UN would lead consultations to determine the modalities of the ceasefire, which will not involve operations against Daesh, Al Nusra Front and other groups yet to be determined.

The countries gathered in Vienna agreed that the elections will be held according to a new constitution and will be administered by the United Nations.

The final communiqué agreed that the Diaspora should be allowed to vote in the elections, a key sticking point in negotiations.

The crux issue of the role of Assad remained unsolved.

Western and Arab countries want him out of the way to let a transitional government unite the country behind a reconciliation process and defeat Daesh.

But Russia, carrying out air strikes against Syrian rebels since late September, is sticking by Assad along with Shiite Iran, which does not want a Sunni-controlled Syria, according to AFP.

“Obviously those of us who met in Vienna today… did not agree on all issues when it comes to Syria. We still differ obviously on the issue of what happens to Bashar Assad,” said Kerry.

“This war cannot end as long as Bashar Assad is there,” he said.

Kerry said comments by Assad blaming France’s actions in Syria for the attacks in Paris, showed he “is not fit to be the leader of his country”. 

The next meeting on Syria is expected in about a month.