No Russia-US talks on direct Syria cooperation: Kremlin

The Kremlin says there has been no discussion between Russia and the United States on the subject of direct military cooperation in Syria, where both powers are conducting airstrikes.

“The topic of direct military cooperation in the fight against terrorism did not figure” in the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.

The Washington Post had alleged it had obtained a leaked document pointing to the potential of the US asking Russia for direct military cooperation against al-Nusra Front in Syria.

“An exchange of information is occurring but, unfortunately we have not begun real cooperation to significantly improve the effectiveness of efforts in the fight against terrorism,” Peskov said.  

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday any military cooperation between the US and Russia must "lead to a new Syria without Bashar al-Assad in it."

Takfiri groups such as al-Nusra Front are believed to have been getting support from Saudi Arabia and its allies for their operations in Syria. 

Last month, Washington asked Moscow to stop conducting airstrikes against al-Nusra terrorists in Syria over fears that US-backed groups operating in the country would be hit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later blasted the request, saying that so-called moderate opposition groups had already been given enough time to leave the city.

He said the US was likely seeking to preserve al-Nusra as a tool to unseat Syrian President Assad.

Russia has been conducting an aerial campaign in Syria on Damascus’s request since September 2015. The US has also been conducting airstrikes against purported Daesh positions in Syria since a year earlier without authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

In his Friday remarks, Peshkov said, “Russia’s position regarding Assad’s fate is well-known and has not undergone any kind of change.”

Speaking to NBC News in Damascus in an interview broadcast Thursday, Assad insisted that Putin and Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition.

He also dismissed "illegal" US airstrikes in Syria as "counterproductive" and ineffective compared to the "legal" firepower lent by Russia.

"The reality is telling that, since the beginning of the American airstrikes, the terrorism has been expanding and prevailing," Assad explained.  

He attributed that to a lack of political will from the U.S. — and a different end goal.

"We wanted to defeat those terrorists, while the United States wanted to manage those groups in order to topple the government in Syria," Assad said.

The US demanded Assad's ouster when the foreign-backed war erupted in Syria. 

Assad accused successive US administrations of stoking chaos around the world, "becoming more and more pyromaniac."

He also was deeply skeptical of US intentions in the region, saying American presidents have long lacked "credibility" in the Middle East.

The president expressed confidence that Syria's war could be won within months. "The Syrian army has made a lot of advancement recently. It won't take more than a few months."

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