The event is one of the few occasions when journalists have the chance to ask whatever question they like to Putin- provided they are picked from the crowd.
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“They still seem to have fundamentally different preferences for the outcome”, said Lund, editor of Syria in Crisis, a website published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Even when there have been differences between us, we have been able to work effectively on specific issues”, Kerry said.
The property tycoon has also backed Russia’s military intervention in Syria.
The latest news from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s end of year news conference. One of the pilots was killed, and the second was rescued. Putin insisted the warplanes targeted only ISIS, but evidence suggests they have mostly targeted non-ISIS opponents of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his endorsement of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, calling the real estate mogul a “really brilliant and talented person”.
“Moscow tried to maintain economic relations with Kiev”, Putin said, adding that changes of trade deals with Ukraine are made to remove Russia’s concerns and to ensure national economic interests.
“Russia and the United States agree that this is a threat to everybody, to every country”, he said. He also called on a global effort to fight terrorism.
Compare that to the efforts of the U.S.-led, Western coalition efforts in Syria, which began air strikes in September 2014. Russia’s ties with Turkey and Ukraine remain strained and Moscow has an ongoing air campaign in Syria against the Islamic State group.
Assad’s future and his potential role in the political transition will be prime topics of Kerry’s conversations with Putin and Lavrov.
“It is a kind of forced decision as they never opted for it. But they might stay in the game only by holding dialogue with Russian Federation”, he said. They included Iran, another key backer of Assad.
Mr Putin said he sees no need for a significant shake-up of his Cabinet.
Russian Federation imposed economic sanctions on Ankara in retaliation. Despite almost 11 weeks of crushing Russian airstrikes, government troops aided by Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian allied forces have failed to reverse losses in the northern province of Idlib and in Palmyra, the ancient desert town in central Syria that fell to the Islamic State this summer.
Lavrov, however, put the responsibility for a resolution squarely on Washington. “Of course we welcome that”.
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Trump has been soaring in polls in the US and is the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary, this despite his often inflammatory remarks that have brought repeated condemnation.
