The US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in a bid to find “common ground” on the Syria crisis.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a meeting in Moscow, Russia December 15, 2015.
The trip will be Mr Kerry’s second to Russian Federation this year – he met with Mr Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in May – but his first since frosty relations over Ukraine were exacerbated by Moscow’s intervention in Syria in late September.
“I think the world benefits when powerful nations with a long history with each other have the ability to be able to find the common ground”, Kerry said in televised remarks.
As he began a series of what are expected to be hard discussions in the Russian capital, Kerry said, “Even when there have been differences between us, we have been able to work effectively on specific issues”.
“It’s been a good cooperative effort, and we’re very appreciative for what has been achieved so far”, Kerry said.
One senior official traveling with Kerry said he would be exploring ways to bridge gaps on both the political transition and the cease-fire as well as making the point that Russia’s military operations in Syria need to focus on the Islamic State.
Lavrov noted “outstanding issues” with the US on the Syrian political transition that is supposed to bring representatives of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government together with the opposition for negotiations by early January. Beyond Assad, these include which rebel groups in Syria should be allowed to participate in the transition process and which should be deemed terrorists, and like the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, combatted by all. President Barack Obama has seen Putin briefly twice since then at worldwide summits in Turkey and France. “Given the US influence on Kiev, it would be a positive factor”.
The official said Kerry would also be inquiring about recent comments from Putin and Russian military officers suggesting that Moscow is supplying the Free Syrian Army, which is opposed to Assad, with air support and weapons.
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He also said that the meeting would cover the matter of Ukraine, with its continued division between the Western-backed government in Kiev and the Russian-backed separatists in its East. The sooner Russia implements a February cease-fire that calls for withdrawal of Russian forces and materiel and a release of all prisoners, he said, the sooner that “sanctions can be rolled back”.
