Appearing before the media with his Russian counterpart today, Secretary of State John Kerry lauded Moscow for being “a significant contributor to the progress that we’ve been able to make” toward the administration’s foreign policy goals.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has opened talks in Moscow with Russia’s foreign minister to try to narrow broad gaps on ways to end Syria’s civil war and restore stability in eastern Ukraine.
After the talks, Lavrov and Kerry will have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This will be something that Secretary Kerry will discuss with President Putin when he’s in Moscow tomorrow, again, the continuing need for the Russians to de-escalate their tensions with the Turks”, spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
“You know that we are searching, together with you, for the solutions to the most complex crises”, Putin told Kerry.
Monday’s talks in Paris would involve preparations for a meeting in NY on Friday with Russian Federation and Iran – the two main backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Despite cooperation with Russian Federation on a political transition in Syria, the United States maintains economic sanctions against Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The results of Tuesday’s meetings will determine whether or not a new worldwide diplomatic conference on Syria will go ahead as planned Friday at the United Nations.
Russia has given mixed messages on the FSA with news agencies on Monday quoting Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian army’s general staff, as saying his country was providing it with weapons, ammunition and material support, and a top Kremlin aide later saying there was no such arrangement.
One of Assad’s staunchest allies, Russia, has launched a campaign of air strikes that it said targeted Islamic State militants but which additionally supported Assad’s forces.
Assad’s future and his potential role in the political transition will be prime topics of Kerry’s conversations with Putin and Lavrov.
Davutoglu said Tuesday that “Turkey is prepared to make every contribution possible to any meeting related to the fight against terrorism, regardless of where it is organized or by whom it is organized”.
After his lengthy meeting with Lavrov, Kerry took time out for a brief stroll through Moscow’s Stary Arbat pedestrian shopping street, stopping at stores including a Dunkin’ Donuts under a light snow and exchanging greetings with Russians.
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“Of course, we would like to continue the dialogue… on how the United States can assist with the Ukrainian settlement”, he said.
