Russia Plans To Diffuse Tension In Syria And The Islamic State; Talks With The U.S. Military Underway
On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu met for the first time for direct talks regarding the increasing tension in Syria and possible ways to fight the Islamic State.
Washington Post noted on Friday the meeting followed the growing concern in Washington over Moscow's military involvement with the government of Syria. Syria is a vital confederate of Kremlin that allows Russia to establish significant groundwork in the area, including its Mediterranean naval facility.
According to Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, U.S. and Russia have "agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in London on Friday he hopes to open talks with U.S. and Russian military officials soon on how to deal with the Islamic State. Kerry also noted that the U.S. is firm in their belief that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must renounce his position.
"Obviously, our focus remains on destroying ISIL," said Kerry, "and also on a political settlement with respect to Syria, which we believe cannot be achieved with the long term presence of Assad. We are looking for ways in which to try and find a common ground."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, added that Moscow is willing to open talks with Washington "on all matters of mutual interest, including Syria." Russia is also willing to send troops in Syria should President Assad want them.
"If there is a request, it will be discussed as part of bilateral contacts," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Of course it will be discussed and considered."
The Guardian reported on Wednesday, however, that an investigation by citizen journalism project Bellingcat showed that a Russian jamming vehicle was sighted in Syria's coastal region, which confirms the boost of military expansion in the region that could make way to the penetration of the Syrian territory and battle the Islamic State.
"Our hope is to find a diplomatic way forward," said Kerry. "But this crisis has to be solved. I think everybody is seized by the urgency. We have been all along. But the migration levels, the continued destruction, the d anger of potential augmentation by any unilateral moves really puts a high premium on diplomacy at this moment."
