The White House said that Obama told Putin that Syrian President Bashar Assad must leave power as part of that transition, a long-held USA position that remains at odds with Russia’s support for Assad.
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“The two Presidents discussed the imperative of making progress on the Vienna process to bring about a ceasefire and political resolution to the civil war in Syria”, the official said.
Syrian authorities are hoping Russian companies will develop the country’s offshore oil deposits, said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem during a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. It took about half an hour and “was fairly saturated”, Peskov said. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said after the meeting that the talks showed the Russian and USA leaders “still disagree on the tactics” of fighting Islamic State. The two leaders met for 30 minutes alongside the climate talks in Paris, the Kremlin said separately.
He added that one Russian firm has already signed a contract and Damascus is waiting for other companies will follow suit.
The Russian military aircraft was shot down by Turkey over Syria on November 24.
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Tensions between Russia and Turkey continue to grow precipitously after Tuesday’s shootdown of a Russian bomber over Syrian airspace, with Russia announcing economic sanctions on Turkey in response, and halting a visa-free travel deal for Turkish visitors.
