Putin Says He And Obama Had A ‘Constructive’ Conversation On Syria

He also accused the Russian leader of trying to turn Syria’s Latkia province into a “military outpost from which to harden and enforce a Russian sphere of influence”.

On Thursday, the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) agreed to end hostilities in Syria and to provide rapid humanitarian access to besieged Syrian towns. According to Prime Minister Medvedev, Russia is being unfairly targeted by the world for the actions that the country is taking.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebel groups said they would not stop fighting because they did not believe Russian Federation would end its campaign in support of the government.

But a Kremlin statement made clear Russian Federation is committed to its campaign against Islamic State and “other terrorist organizations”, an indication that it would also target groups in western Syria where jihadists such as al Qaeda are fighting Assad in close proximity to rebels deemed moderate by the West.

The Syria situation has driven relations between the US and Russian Federation to new lows.

A more formal ceasefire is still the goal for some, including the U.S. But because numerous countries in the group have different strategies, it could take more time. Over the weekend, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that the world had already descended into “a new Cold War“.

Lavrov’s German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, put the odds at 51 percent when asked the same question.

Turkey shelled positions held by the main Kurdish militia in northern Syria for a second day today. This would allow them to “successfully fight the Islamic State and other terroristic organisations”.

But said any move to deploy Saudi special forces into Syria would depend on a decision by the US-led coalition combating the ultra-radical militants. That, he said, has left them “very, very vulnerable to be recruited by the evil forces” like al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. “He wants to exacerbate the refugee crisis and use it as a weapon”, McCain said. A United Nations spokesperson said from Geneva, where a task force is organizing aid under an agreement reached Friday in Munich, that the Douma delivery was a previously scheduled shipment by the Syrian Red Crescent.

John McCain sharply criticized the deal to seek a temporary truce in Syria, arguing Sunday that Russian Federation is engaging in “diplomacy in the service of military aggression”.

The conflict in Ukraine needs to be regulated by the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the prime minister said, RIA Novosti reported.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the 2016 Munich Security Conference.