Syria Conflict: US, Russia Meet

The Russian Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable attempts to present the contacts between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry who are holding talks in Moscow on Tuesday in the context of Russia’s containment, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

“Kerry, who will meet Putin later on Tuesday, told Lavrov: ‘Even when there have been differences between us we have been able to work effectively on specific issues'”.

Kerry and the United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, want to hold the next round of Syrian peace talks on Friday in NY, but Moscow has so far refused to confirm the date. Washington maintains that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down, while Moscow argues that his fate is up to the Syrian people to decide.

It is expected that talks between Lavrov and Kerry will focus on issues of bilateral relations and relevant worldwide problems, including the situation in Syria and fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization banned in Russian Federation, as well as the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.

He also said 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.

While Kerry said there were still “kinks” that needed to be worked out, mainly to do with which groups should be included in the talks, the Kremlin rejected the results of the Riyadh meeting, saying some of the groups were considered terrorists.

“We’re aggrieved that Washington presents such contacts within the concept of “isolation” of Russia,” Ryabkov said, adding that although this trend might mean a lot for the Obama administration, “the reality testifies to the contrary”.

At the start of a three-hour meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kerry said he wanted to prepare the ground for a third round of talks of world powers on Syria, which is pencilled in for Friday in NY.

“Russia and the United States agree that this is a threat to everybody, to every country”, he said.

On Ukraine, Kerry is pushing for Russian Federation to fully abide by the terms of a February cease-fire – the Minsk agreement – in return for easing sanctions.

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. That deal called for the removal of heavy weaponry from front lines, a Russian troop withdrawal, the release of detainees and full access for global monitors.