Putin, Obama agree on Syria co-operation

Medvedev raised hackles during the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, when he said the world had “slid into a new period of Cold War”.

The Russian Prime Minister’s comments came after his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, warned Moscow that to acquire peace in Syria, it must stop bombing civilians.

“If the worldwide community and Syrians themselves miss the opportunity now before we to achieve that political resolution to the conflicts, the violence… will continue”, he said.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a meeting of top defence officials, diplomats and national leaders that sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and new moves by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation “only aggravate” tensions.

“Nearly on a daily basis, we are being blamed for the most awful threat to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as a whole, to Europe, to America, to other countries”.

Pressure is increasing on Russian Federation over civilian deaths in Syria, with France and the United States urging greater caution.

Lavrov, however, rejected the calls for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying the idea that Assad’s removal could improve the situation in the Arab country is an “illusion”. But several Western countries have said there is no hope for progress without a halt to the Russian bombing, which has decisively turned the balance of power in favor of Assad after nearly five years of conflict.

For his part, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry repeated accusations that Russia’s attacks have been against “legitimate opposition groups” backed by the United States and its European and Arab allies.

He said peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition should resume in Geneva immediately.

“The President reiterated the importance of quickly reaching agreement on the modalities for elections in eastern Ukraine that comply with OSCE standards”, the White House said. He stressed that dialogue is important to address transparency and risk reduction, as well as issues on which North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Russian Federation have deep divisions, such as Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “It is already very hot”. However, when asked to assess the chances of the deal succeeding, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov answered “49 percent” in Munich Saturday.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and Obama had spoken by telephone and agreed to intensify cooperation to implement the Munich agreement.