Kerry in Moscow talks to bridge gaps with Russia over SyriaDecember 15, 2015 - 10:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow for talks to try to bridge gaps with Russia over the political process to end Syria's civil war, BBC News reports. He is due to have meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The U.S. and Russia have long disagreed on what role Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should play in the process. The U.S. wants Assad to stand down but Russia says only the Syrian people can decide his fate. Ahead of the talks, the Russian foreign ministry attacked U.S. policy, accusing Washington of "dividing terrorists into good and bad ones". Russia has been carrying out air strikes it says target position of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, but the U.S. accuses Russia of bombing moderate rebels to shore up its ally President Assad. Moscow denies the allegations. A U.S.-led coalition has been targeting IS militants in Syria since September 2014 and does not co-ordinate its raids with the authorities in Damascus. Russia has also rejected the outcome of a meeting of Syrian opposition groups, who agreed to unite to hold peace talks but stressed President Assad could not participate in a political transition. Kerry is to try to prepare the ground for an international meeting on Syria mooted for later this week. There are some doubts whether it will go ahead but the U.S. State Department denied claims from Russia "preconditions" would have to be met for the meeting to take place. Negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition have been tentatively scheduled for January next year. Kerry is also expected to use his Moscow talks for discussion of continuing efforts to restore stability in eastern Ukraine. Photo: Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |