- Syrian settlement possible only on basis of Russian initiatives — de Villepin
- Fight against terrorism in Syria should run parallel with political reforms — Russia FM
- Syria’s UN envoy says Putin understands situation in Middle East right
- Putin: Russia not planning to take part in field operations in Syria
UNITED NATIONS, September 29. /TASS/. Moscow and Washington agree on "some fundamental principles" for the resolution of the Syrian conflict, Secretary of State John Kerry told MSNBC TV channel on Tuesday.
"There was agreement that Syria should be a unified country, united, that it needs to be secular, that ISIL (the Islamic State terrorist organization) needs to be taken on, and that there needs to be a managed transition," Kerry said following two rounds of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Kerry said Russia and the US remain divided on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in his Monday’s address to the UN General Assembly said it was "a big mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian authorities and government forces" in counter-terrorism issues while the US authorities insist that Assad should go.