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Putin, Obama ready to step up coordination of military actions in Syria — Kremlin

The Russian and US leaders discussed the Ukrainian, Syrian, Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts

MOSCOW, July 6 /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in a telephone conversation on Wednesday confirmed readiness to step up coordination of Russian, US military actions in Syria, the Kremlin says.

The conversation took place at the Russian side’s request, the Kremlin press service said.

Putin urged Obama to contribute to separation of moderate Syrian opposition from extremists.

"As the situation in Syria was discussed, Putin called his interlocutor’s attention to the need to dissociate moderate Syrian opposition from the Jebhat al-Nusra terrorist group and other extremists to whom the ceasefire regime does not spread as early as possible. Both sides confirmed readiness to build up military coordination of Russian and American actions in Syria and stressed the importance to resume the U.N.-brokered inter-Syrian dialogue with an aim to reach the conflict’s political settlement," the Kremlin said.

The Ukrainian crisis

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Obama that Kiev should strictly implement the Minsk Agreements.

"When discussing Ukrainian issues, the president of Russia again pointed to the importance of strict implementation by Kiev of the Minsk Agreements of February 12, 2015, including organization of real direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, the holding of amnesty, the granting of a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and joint development of the law on local elections," the statement said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The Kremlin went on to say that Putin informed Obama on the June 20 meeting in St Petersburg on peace settlement of the conflict in the mostly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave region of Azerbaijan

 The trilateral meeting brought together Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

"Putin said that Russia had proceeded from the importance of assistance to an earliest possible stabilization in the zone of conflict and facilitation of the peace process while organizing the St Petersburg talks," it said.

The kremlin added Obama praises Russia's effort on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.