U.S. and Russian Federation achieve clarity for path on Syria

While Russia is providing military support to the government of embattled President Bashar al-Assad, the United States is supporting rebel groups seeking to bring Assad down.

The two countries failed to reach a comprehensive agreement on stepping up military cooperation and a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria after almost 10 hours of talks in Geneva on Friday, 26 August.

“We don’t want to have a deal for the sake of the deal”, he explained. Syria is also getting help from Iran, and in recent days, Turkey launched its own assault across its border with Syria, driving IS fighters from the town of Jarabulus with American air support.

Kerry said that Syrians benefited from the calm following the February accord, but that the gains were lost again when violations of the agreement began.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Geneva, said there were still several issues that needed to be resolved.

“We have continued our efforts to reduce the areas where we lack understanding and trust, which in an achievement”, Lavrov said. “The mutual trust is growing with every meeting”.

The inability to wrest an agreement between Russian Federation and the US – as the major sponsors of the opposing sides in the stalled Syria peace talks – all but spells another missed deadline for the U.N. Syria envoy to get the Syrian government and “moderate” opposition back to the table.

Kerry stressed that the only way to solve the conflict was through political agreement.

Kerry added that USA forces are cooperating with “a component” of Kurdish forces on a limited basis and in “close cooperation” with Turkey.

“We’re hopeful that today could see resolution on at least some of them, and that we can move this plan forward”, the official said, “But we’re mindful of the challenges”.

While President Barack Obama demanded Assad’s ouster five years ago, his administration may ease off its demand that he leave to address more immediate issues, such as the humanitarian crisis, according to analysts, including Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group.

Those goals are not new, but recent developments have made achieving them even more urgent and important, according to U.S. officials.

The talks come as the Damascus suburb of Darayya was evacuated after a four-year siege by the government.

The Syrian opposition also criticised the evacuation, saying that the worldwide community had failed the people of Daraya.

The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power.