Kerry in Abu Dhabi for talks on Syrian crisis

Kerry held meetings with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Kerry also pushed back against charges that ISIS has been able to expand its reach due to a suboptimal US strategy. He said greater military cooperation with Russian Federation was possible under the right circumstances. The White House said Biden highlighted “ongoing USA efforts to mobilize increased support for Iraq among the 65-member counter-ISIL coalition”.

Moscow has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the outset of the uprising against his government, which began with demonstrations in March 2011.

“The goal is to accelerate everything”, Kerry told reporters after talks with senior officials of the United Arab Emirates about the campaign against Isis, which is known by various names including Daesh.

“There is a very clear focus by everybody, there is a united front, and I am absolutely convinced that Daesh will be defeated and there will be increased steps taken in order to do so”, he said on an interview from Abu Dhabi on Monday with the “Today” show.

Russian Federation took the United States by surprise in late September with air attacks on ISIS and other groups it called terrorists.

President Barack Obama’s administration faces pressure at home and overseas to step up the fight against the Islamic State after its Nov 13 attack in Paris killed 130 people.

Hollande will meet with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday.

He said it was “not a new idea”. In recent days, ISIS has managed to pull off attacks in Paris and Beirut and brought down a Russian jetliner.

Biden spoke separately Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Kerry’s remarks come soon before the first batch of USA special forces troops are scheduled to arrive in Syria, as promised by President Obama, after he repeatedly pledged to not commit ground troops. For one, the plan doesn’t say when Assad might leave power.

“As long as Iranian and Russian invasions and the regime exist in Syria, a political solution is out of the question; I guarantee the transition will be without Assad”, Khoja told a press conference in Istanbul.

And while the U.S. and its allies say that Syrian military and government institutions should remain intact after Mr Assad departs, his loyalists dominate them and could destabilise any new head of state who sought to fire them.

The two sides also stressed the importance of continued support for regional efforts, in particular in in Syria, Yemen, Libya and the peace process in the Middle East as well as the worldwide efforts to establish the pillars of security and stability in the region and the world.