Kerry says will meet Lavrov on Syria
US Secretary of State John Kerry says he will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov early next week to discuss Syria’s crisis.
He said that he would meet Lavrov on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Vientiane, Laos.
“I think our next meeting will be on the side of the meeting in Asia. I’ll see him in Asia,” he told reporters in Vienna, Austria on Friday.
Kerry said that he and Lavrov would discuss a US plan to increase Washington-Moscow military cooperation and intelligence sharing on Syria.
He defended the US plan, saying "the president of the United States has authorized and ordered this track."
At a news conference with Lavrov in Moscow last week, Kerry announced that Russia and the US had established a common understanding of required steps to bring peace back to Syria.
Now, President Barack Obama wants to see if Russia is ready to deliver on its promises it made last week, he said on Friday.
"It is the president’s desire to test whether or not the Russians are prepared to do what they said during our negotiations in Moscow that they will do," Kerry stated.
"We’re going to test this very carefully based not on trust, based on specific steps," Kerry said. "So far, it is showing a modicum of promise which, hopefully, we can complete."
The US top diplomat also said that he and Lavrov would talk on ways to solidify Syria truce.
The truce deal on Syria, which went into effect late February, excluded groups like Daesh and the al-Nusra Front that were officially blacklisted by UN Security Council as terrorists, while allowing humanitarian access to the war-torn parts of the country.
Russia launched an air campaign against Daesh and other terrorist groups last September upon a request by the Damascus government.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
How US abuses its UN veto power to enable Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza
US senator threatens ICC with military action over Netanyahu sentence
Russia launches 'ICBM' for first time against Ukraine: Kiev
Iran reports 11% drop in domestic red meat supply
Arab League affirms support for Iraq amid Israel's threats of military action
VIDEO | Fierce fight in Southern Lebanon
Over 1000 medics killed in Gaza as Israel systematically targets hospitals
Iran’s steel output down 1.9% y/y in October to 3 mln mt: Worldsteel
Islamabad in lockdown as Imran Khan supporters march for his release
VIDEO | Russia's new hypersonic missiles target Ukraine
VIDEO | US expands military role in Yemen
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
