Al-Jubeir, speaking at a news conference in Washington, said Saudi Arabia was following US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks with his Russian counterpart. But he wouldn’t detail those steps. (Putin also received Kerry today.) A major topic of discussion on their agenda is reportedly proposals for US-Russian military cooperation against terrorist groups in Syria.
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Reports says Secretary Kerry, who is due in Moscow later Thursday, will discuss with Russian Federation efforts to salvage a cessation of hostilities in Syria, as well as a possible joint military pact to target Islamic State militants in the country.
“No”, Peskov said answering the question whether Kerry had raised this issue during yesterday’s talks with Putin.
Mr Kerry had in the past sought to shield the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s Syrian branch, from Russian bombing on the basis that it was intermingled with Western-backed insurgents. He said other opposition forces, too, have sometimes been culpable in violations.
The proposed military command-and-control headquarters would be used to coordinate the air campaign and would house both USA and Russian military officials.
The proposed “Joint Implementation Group” would be based near Amman, Jordan.
Under a leaked plan, the United States and Russian Federation would establish separate headquarters and a shared coordination office, where they would deploy senior officials, intelligence personnel and experts in strike planning and targeting.
“I would like to note our mutual effort in the settlement of conflicts that we deem important to resolve”, Putin said, conveying his regards to President Barack Obama. United Nations -led efforts to bring the warring sides together to negotiate a political transition also have failed.
Capt. Abdelsalam Abdurrazek, a spokesman for Nur al-Din Zenki, a CIA-vetted rebel entity fighting near Aleppo, decried the USA for offering “to support an ally of the Syrian regime and an enemy of the Syrian people”. A defiant Bashar al-Assad expressed confidence that Syria’s bloody war could be won within months, saying Russia’s intervention has helped tip the scales toward victory. The group is engaged in a variety of regional alliances with other rebel groups the USA and its Arab allies want shielded by the so-called cessation of hostilities.
Carter said an existing agreement with the Russians on air safety procedures over Syria will continue. He said people all over the world were looking to world leaders to do everything possible to combat terrorism.
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“At present, the United States is not conducting or coordinating military operations with Russia”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
