White House says Kerry will press Russia on Turkey de-escalation

(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.

Kerry hopes that if the regime and the rebels can agree a truce then they, Russian Federation and a US-led coalition of Western and Arab allies can focus their fire on IS.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday to seek agreement on how best to push forward efforts to halt Syria’s brutal civil war.

“We, for our part, will keep seeking that the U.S. administration review its policy that seeks to divide terrorists into “good” and “bad”, the statement says.

Assad himself appeared to cast doubt on the very idea of peace talks last Friday, saying he would not negotiate with armed groups that he said were backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

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

The Kremlin assessed contacts between the Russian president and U.S. state secretary as first signs of understanding the importance of returning to cooperation between the two countries.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking to Turkish reporters on the sidelines of a meeting on Libya in Rome, said Turkey would get the Turkish fishing ship’s side of the story before making an announcement on the issue, but added that Turkey doesn’t favor an escalation of tensions.

On Monday, the Russian military reignited speculation about arms deliveries to the Free Syrian Army when armed forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov repeated Putin’s words nearly verbatim.

In Moscow, Kerry will ask for Russia’s full implementation of a February cease-fire in exchange for sanctions relief. “Given the US influence on Kiev, it would be a positive factor”.

The State Department official said the United States, however, has made its position “absolutely clear”.

Lavrov said that questions still persist over the political settlement of the Syria crisis, and further work needs to be done under the framework of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG).

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