Spokesmen for the State Department and the White House fielded reporters’ questions about a CNN report Tuesday that said Secretary John Kerry had asked his staff “to further develop the idea”.
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According to Kirby, the two leaders also talked about tactical matters such as de-confliction to avoid possible miscalculations in the air.
Obama administration officials on Wednesday said the longstanding issue of a no-fly zone in war-torn Syria has been discussed but no decision made.
The two top diplomats had a 30-minute phone conversation, initiated by the U.S. state secretary.
There were “no tactical level decisions” made during the call, Kirby added.
Talking about whether the Washington-Moscow talks on Syria will moving forward, Kirby said that “I don’t think we’re at the point where there are hard and fast modalities as to what the process will look like”. Zakharova said conducting military operations was the only way to restore Syria’s territorial unity and sovereignty.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters that all actions taken by Russia in Syria are aimed at promoting a political settlement.
“I’ve seen those reports but I’am not in a position to confirm them at this time”, he said.
In a rare televised statement, General Ali Ayoub said Russian strikes provided cover for government forces to launch an offensive against Islamic State fighters and other rebel forces.
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“We continue to have discussions about how to best go after ISIL (Islamic State group) and particularly there in Syria, in northern Syria in particular”, he said.
