Russian, US, Saudi Arabian, Turkish FMs seek solutions over Syria conflict

“Exactly because of that we’ve got the very hard situation in Ukraine, and we still have a hard situation on our borders, in [the Russian region] Kaliningrad where Russia is exercising and trying to frighten us”.

“Right now Russian Federation has more chances than any other country to settle this process”, said Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center for Strategic Trend Studies in Moscow.

Kerry, who is traveling to Jordan later Friday for talks with King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, said the new ideas “are in keeping with all of the principles that have been laid down and with sensitivities of the nations and the parties, the opposition, all those involved in this effort”.

“With Iran, it’s an issue of religion, of Shi’ite expansionism”, he said.

“I hope with the Russian pilots’ help, our military will advance and defeat the terrorists so that we can return to our homes”, said Ahmad Attan, who served in the Syrian military and was wounded during fighting.

Western diplomats privately agree there is a window of opportunity for Putin to seize the diplomatic initiative, even if its chances of success are deeply uncertain.

In addition, it also signified Assad’s inclusion in any future settlement of the Syrian conflict, particularly as this is Assad’s first known trip overseas since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, analysts say.

“And here the answer is, whether one likes it or not, because he is filling a void left by US disengagement”.

Kerry had met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish and Saudi Arabian counterparts to discuss ways of ending the Syrian war, which claimed more than 250,000 lives in four-and-a-half years.

The US and its allies have criticised the Russian strikes and accused them of mainly hitting anti-Assad rebels, while Moscow has blasted Washington for not sharing intelligence. “One thing stands in the way of being able to rapidly move to implement that, and it’s a person called Assad-Bashar al-Assad”.

“This quartet is clearly not enough”, he said.

He also pointedly did not exclude the possibility of bringing Iran, the Middle East’s major Shi’ite Muslim power that backs Assad and is engaged in a regional power struggle with Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, into the discussions at a few point.

Lavrov said Russia’s support for Assad remains strong. The Kremlin has closely coordinated its military operations with the Syrian regime and its other global backers, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

He added he was not opposed to the military agreement between Jordan, a close US ally, and Russian Federation.

“Let’s not play with words and divide the terrorists into moderate and not moderate”, said the president.

Opinion in Iraq meanwhile appears deeply divided.

Meanwhile, in televised remarks on Thursday, Lavrov said he wanted to provide “firsthand information” about the Russian air campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria, but also talk about a future political process.