“We are committed to try to destroy Daesh”, he added, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State extremist group.
Advertisement
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and U.S. Senator John Kerry meet in Damascus on January 8, 2005, to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and Iraq.
Kerry said neither IS militants nor the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front would be involved. But neither gave any hint on whether any other groups might be placed on the list.
But after a day of discussions with Assad’s key global backer, Kerry said the focus now is “not on our differences about what can or cannot be done immediately about Assad”. The Syrian president apparently had never tried to resolve the conflict surrounding Syria for more than four years.
“We reached some common ground today in agreement with respect to the complexity of this issue of terrorist groups”, said Kerry.
On Ukraine, the two countries are split over the implementation of a February agreement meant to end hostilities between the Kiev government and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
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.
Kerry replied that he thought Russian Federation and the US could make “a significant difference here”.
Some progress was made when it came to agreeing which Syrian rebel groups should be regarded as terrorist organisations and which should take part in the peace process, he added.
The secretariat, which includes armed factions and members of the political opposition, will also pick a negotiating team for talks with the government, though it is not certain that will happen this week.
According to the minister, Saudi Arabia’s initiative on uniting efforts of Islamic countries in the fight against terrorism may become the starting point for organizing an interfaith conference under United Nations auspices. That would allow everyone to direct firepower against the extremists. And opposition groups that met in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week demanded that Assad step down before negotiations start.
Echoing Zakharova, he claimed that it was Turkish actions that brought relations their current dismal state, and that it is up to Ankara to decide how long the spat will last. At the very least, they hope Russian Federation will play a role in persuading him to send a representative to negotiations.
“Incirlik has grown more important in the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State, with 59 US, Turkish, Qatari and German aircraft conducting refueling, intelligence, and strike missions now operating out of the base, up from about 15 from all coalition countries at the beginning of September, US officials said”.
Advertisement
Also, once again, the US can not make a firm stand on Assad’s status in Syria.
