[An Nahar] U.N. chief 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
emphasized the need to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict when he met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, a U.N. front man said.
Russia, the United States and the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
have been attempting to set up a conference aimed at ending the brutal civil war, which has left more than 100,000 dead.
But a conference initially planned for June failed to materialize.
Russia is the Syrian regime's main ally and has repeatedly blocked Western-backed resolutions at the U.N. Security Council.
In a U.N. statement Thursday following his working dinner with Lavrov, Ban expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
over the "escalating humanitarian crisis" in Syria and "the disconcerting rise in sectarian violence."
Ban added, however, that he was encouraged by the resumption of direct talks in the Middle East grinding of the peace processor and pledged full U.N. support for the negotiations.