USA and Russian officials conducted intense negotiations earlier this week on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China, in pursuit of agreement on a renewed cease-fire in Syria.
Advertisement
The news comes after spokesman Mark Toner repeatedly denied the two diplomats would meet, noting that it is not worth it for Kerry to travel to the Swiss capital until the team there ripened some of the technical details of a deal between Moscow and Washington.
The Turkish leader had met separately with Putin and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the recent G-20 meeting in China, telling them both that it was essential to agree to a truce for Aleppo.
Those meetings followed Kerry-Lavrov talks in Geneva two weeks ago on the US proposal, which Kerry presented to Putin during a July visit to Moscow. In a September 1 interview, Putin said the two sides were “gradually heading in the right direction”. Moscow supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Washington supports the opposition, saying Assad must go.
The United States and Russian Federation have backed opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, which shows little sign of ending after 5-1/2 years of violence in which half the pre-war population has been uprooted. A partial “cessation of hostilities” in Syria brokered by the USA and Russian Federation in February quickly broke down, and broader talks in Geneva over a political solution to the crisis have stalemated.
Washington wants to see a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, while Russian Federation insists on the need for the Syrian army and its allies to continue the battle against Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Washington wants Assad’s air force grounded to stop its attacks on opposition forces and civilians. The two countries had hoped to conclude a deal in Geneva nearly two weeks ago and then again over the weekend in China, where world leaders had gathered for the Group of 20 summit, but came away empty-handed.
Advertisement
“The chances of an American-Russian deal are getting smaller, not bigger”, Ford said.
