NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended Saudi Arabia for its constructive efforts and leadership in convening the Syrian opposition conference in Riyadh, his spokesman said in a statement.

He said the UN chief also highlighted the importance of maintaining the positive momentum of the efforts of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG), allowing it to move forward and launch a credible political negotiations among Syrians in January to implement the 2012 Geneva Communique and the ISSG Vienna statements.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Paris earlier, said the Riyadh talks appeared to be “very constructive” and making progress.

“I think everybody is moving in the direction that they want to rapidly get to a political process,” he said.

“So we made progress but we have some tough issues to get over,” he said.

The Riyadh meeting came amid escalating conflict in Syria and accelerated diplomacy to find a political solution to the war.

Major powers agreed in Vienna last month to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war, calling for peace talks to start by January and elections within two years.

The Saudi Cabinet has lauded the Kingdom’s keenness to solve the Syrian crisis through political means based on the Geneva I declaration.

The US welcomed the Riyadh accord but warned that some problems remain to be resolved between the opposition forces if UN-backed peace talks are to resume next week.

Gathered in Riyadh for the first major talks among various political and armed factions, representatives agreed a framework for negotiations sought by world powers.

But the opposition groups insisted that Assad and his aides quit power “with the start of the transition period” set out by world powers in Vienna.