But few in the Pentagon, at least, have much faith in Moscow.
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But Pentagon officials told CNN that extreme mistrust of the Russians is coupled with logistical concerns that make such an agreement complicated.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach a deal Monday on a cease-fire for Syria, but the two sides have agreed to continue negotiating even as Syrian government forces close in on the beseiged city of Aleppo.
On Putin’s meeting with USA counterpart Barack Obama, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the talks lasted “longer than planned”, with Syria and Ukraine being discussed first and foremost.
Kerry has also faced criticism for attempting to make a deal with Russian Federation, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the US Secretary of State explained that he views the talks as an opportunity to end the five-year civil war in the Arab nation.
Erdogan’s spokesman said on Tuesday that Russian Federation had voiced full support for Turkey’s operation to clear the border of Islamic State. The military has hit 441 targets with artillery since the start of the operation. A senior administration official told reporters Tuesday the United States would “walk away” from talks with Russian Federation if a good agreement couldn’t be reached.
According to political analyst Alexander Mercouris, who spoke on Wednesday to Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear host Brian Becker, Turkey is attempting to create a safe zone in northeastern Syria to serve as a base for jihadi groups supported by Washington and Ankara.
“I think this is the last card that is going to be played”, one senior administration official said.
Mr Kerry said he would not rush into any agreement just to see it fail again.
The newly installed commander of the US -led coalition fighting the Islamic State isn’t convinced, either. The United States supports rebels fighting to overthrow Assad and has called on him to step down.
“They’re all refusing to do so”, Lister said, as “they would see it as effectively ceding territory to the regime”.
The US wants fresh assurances that Russian Federation will sanction Syria if it breaks the terms of the ceasefire, but the Syrian air force has said it can not tolerate being effectively grounded in its own sovereign territory.
“Trust is already at an all-time low”, Lister said, “but there is still a desire within the mainstream opposition to work with the West in general, including the United States”. Furthermore, a “no fly zone” likely could put USA aircraft in conflict with Russian and Syrian aircraft and ground-based anti-aircraft missiles, thus possibly turning a civil war into something much bigger and nastier.
The American defense official admitted that “we would have to sell this to the opposition”. If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently because of the humanitarian situation.
Obama and his Russian counterpart Putin met on Monday as talks between their governments on ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement.
Activists and medical workers say Syrian government and Russian jets are behind the attacks.
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The White House official said there has been some “backsliding” since discussions between Kerry and Lavrov last month in Geneva. “They bear the responsibility of the consequences of things that they could avoid”.
