“If they want me to leave, I’m going to leave”, he said.
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The US is proposing a new military pact with Russian Federation to combat Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda in Syria, according to a leaked document.
“If a truce in Syria falls apart, it will lead to a ‘return to conflict and a return to a situation that. we felt like we were making progress moving away from”, agency spokesman Mark Toner said during a press briefing.
Sergey Karagonov, a former adviser to the Russian president, told Al Jazeera: “The problem is that he [Kerry] represents a lame duck”.
According to a text of the proposal retrieved by The Washington Post, the document offers a deeper cooperation between the two armed forces as well as intelligence services in order to tackle the extremists.
But critics of U.S. policy are bound to see any offer to aid Putin’s campaign in Syria – even against jihadists – as a victory for the Kremlin’s intervention in Syria.
And there was no sign in Damascus that Assad feels under any pressure to agree to talks on a new government, the next stage in the process if a ceasefire is restored.
“They never said a single word regarding this”, Mr Assad told NBC News, referring to conversations with President Vladimir Putin and officials.
Another crucial point worthy of reflection is whether the next president of the United States will better or maintain the strained relations with Russian Federation.
“These talks. are meant to be a credible beginning of a roadmap towards a political transition, so they need to be well-prepared”, he said.
Moscow and Washington brokered a landmark partial cease-fire in Syria in February but it has since all but collapsed amid continued heavy fighting.
US officials described the visit as a test of Moscow’s willingness to use its influence on the Syrian government to help revive the country’s peace process, and time was running out for that.
Moscow backs the government of Bashar al-Assad, while Washington leads an global coalition against IS and lends support to Syrian rebels.
Expanded coordination between the U.S. and Russian Federation would be directed from a Joint Implementation Group, based near to the Jordanian capital Amman.
The U.S. also says Syria’s military and Russia’s air force have repeatedly violated truces with moderate rebel groups backed by the U.S. or its allies.
USA officials have suggested Kerry’s proposal is meant to test whether the Kremlin is honest about pushing for an end to the conflict in Syria and fighting terrorism, rather than defending Assad.
The United States will propose increasing military cooperation and sharing intelligence with Russian Federation to identify and target UIslamic State group and al-Qaida headquarters, training camps and supply routes in Syria, the Washington Post reported.
The UN-brokered peace talks have stalled and there is little hope of ending the war in Syria soon.
The agenda behind a potential Washington-Moscow cooperation proposal remains uncertain considering that deputy U.S. national security advisor stated at the two-day conference in Poland: “What we are demonstrating is that if Russian Federation continues this pattern of aggressive behavior, there will be a response, and there will be a greater presence in eastern Europe”.
Russia’s “interests are common with ours now, because they are fighting the same terrorists that they could fight in Russian Federation”.
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The battle for Aleppo escalated quickly over the last week, when forces allied with the Syrian government blocked off Castello Road, the only supply route into the city’s eastern opposition-held areas.
