Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said earlier this week that the government would even speak to armed rebels.

Half of the cuts will fall on the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the reductions put at risk “all of our missions”.

“In the first month of this year, we sold arms worth $1 billion. In January-February, total sales exceeded $2.5 billion,” Fomin said.

Frank Mulholland said the discussions "were positive and it is hoped there will be further progress as a result."

The capture of Tel Shghaib marked the last step to creating a land supply route north into Aleppo from Hama province.

Private Bradley Manning admitted in court that he had provided about 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks.

"We not only disagree with it, we found it objectionable," Kerry told a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister.