GENEVA — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today the prospects for resuming the Syrian peace process are riding on the outcome of U.S.-Russian talks aimed at securing Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal that lurched into a second day.

As American and Russian weapons experts huddled in a Geneva hotel to haggle over details that will be critical to reach a deal, Kerry and Lavrov met a short distance away at the U.N.’s European headquarters with U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to examine political developments and plot a new conference to support the creation of a Syrian transitional government.

Brahimi acknowledged the high stakes when he told the diplomatic pair that their chemical weapons negotiation “is extremely important in itself, and for itself, but it is also extremely important for us who are working with you on trying to bring together the Geneva conference successfully.”

Kerry, flanked by Lavrov and Brahimi, told the Geneva press corps after an hourlong meeting that the chances for a second peace conference in Geneva will require success first with the chemical weapons talks, which have been “constructive” so far.

Kerry said they agreed to meet around Sept. 28 on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. But, he said, the future of peace negotiations depends on the outcome of the weapons talks.