He is due to have meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov on Monday. Kerry has sought to place within the groundwork for a 3rd spherical of talks involving world powers on the Syrian crisis, still it was unclear if a gathering planned for Fri.in New York NY would go ahead, Reuters reported.
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Russian Federation says its airstrikes have targeted Isil, but Western governments claim mostly moderate rebels are being hit and that Moscow is primarily concerned with shoring up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He added: “Even when there have been differences between us we have been able to work effectively on specific issues”.
The negotiations held in Moscow between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been going on for more than 3 hours, “Armenpress” reports, citing RIA Novosti. Perhaps seeking to ease some tension in what were expected to be tough talks, Kerry praised Russia’s role in seeking to create a political transition process for Syria with other nations, including the U.S.
However, both Russian Federation and the USA agree on the need to stamp out the terrorist organization Islamic State, which has gained significant territory in war-torn Syria and Iraq in the past couple of years.
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.
The US wants Mr Assad to stand down but the Kremlin believes that decision lies with the Syrian people.
However, ahead of his arrival, Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow would be looking for a “revision” in US policy “dividing terrorists into “bad” and “good” ones”.
The issue of holding the next meeting of the Syrian support group in NY has still not been agreed upon, Ryabkov said. 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 the east.
Ryabkov said the establishment of a definitive list of terror groups was essential if progress is to be made in accordance with Vienna talks that are wider than the US-led coalition on Syria.
Kerry’s visit follows a meeting last week in Riyadh which agreed to unite a number of opposition groups, not including Islamic State, to negotiate with Damascus in peace talks. Syrian opposition groups, however, demand that Assad leave at the start of the process.
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“Of course, we would like to continue the discussion of our presidents about the United States’ possible contribution to the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”, Lavrov was quoted as saying.
