John Kerry to arrive in Moscow today

(Vatican Radio) US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Moscow Tuesday to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the situation in Syria.

At the opening of the meeting, Kerry said Moscow and Washington agree that the Islamic State insurgent group in Syria and Iraq “is a threat to everybody, to every country”.

“This will be something that Secretary Kerry will discuss with President Putin when he’s in Moscow tomorrow, again, the continuing need for the Russians to de-escalate their tensions with the Turks”, spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

“I think the world benefits when powerful nations with a long history with each other have the ability to be able to find common ground”, he said.

Germany’s defense minister has rebuffed a call from the United States for her country to make a greater contribution to the military effort to fight 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.

Kerry said “nothing would please us more than to resolve the differences on Ukraine” but there was little sign of a convergence.

The objective of Kerry’s visit will be to address differences with Russian leaders regarding Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s role in any political transition in the region. And on Ukraine, Lavrov said the US should use its influence with the government in Kiev to settle the conflict with the separatists by respecting a shaky cease-fire and moving ahead with political reforms in eastern Ukraine.

President Barack Obama first called on Assad to leave power in the summer of 2011, with “Assad must go” being a consistent rallying cry.

At the same time, Russian Federation objects to the inclusion in the opposition of groups it considers to be terrorist organisations that would not be eligible for a ceasefire planned to take effect simultaneously with, or shortly after, the start of negotiations.

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.

“Of course, we would like to continue the dialogue… on how the United States can assist with the Ukrainian settlement”, he said.