Russian Federation and the US are at odds over the mechanics of a political transition aimed at halting the war in Syria as well as the military approach to fighting the Islamic State group.
Advertisement
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands as they pose for cameras ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Manor House in Moscow on December 15, 2015.
One senior official travelling with Kerry said he would be exploring ways to bridge gaps on both the political transition as well as making the point that Russia’s military operations in Syria need to focus on Isil.
As the meeting with Mr Lavrov began, Mr Kerry said: “The world benefits when powerful nations can find common ground and I hope today, we can find some common ground”.
Mr Kerry is to try to prepare the ground for an worldwide meeting on Syria mooted for later this week.
Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart say that a group of foreign ministers will meet at the United Nations on Friday to discuss a political transition in war-ravaged Syria.
The trip will be Mr Kerry’s second to Russian Federation this year – he met with Mr Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in May – but his first since frosty relations over Ukraine were exacerbated by Moscow’s intervention in Syria in late September.
Russian Federation and the U.S. are militarily backing opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, and also fundamentally disagree over the role President Bashar al-Assad should play in the search for peace. Syrian opposition groups, however, demand that Assad leave at the start of the process.
The two countries also have split on Ukraine since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region a year ago and its ongoing, though diminished, support for separatist rebels in the east of the country.
In Moscow, Kerry will ask for Russia’s full implementation of a February cease-fire in exchange for sanctions relief.
Advertisement
“Of course, we wanted to continue the conversation between our presidents about the United States contribution to the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”, he added.
