The US Secretary of State meets the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow
US Secretary of State in Moscow
John Kerry to meet counterpart Sergey Lavrov and President Putin
Syria on the agenda, primarily the role of President Assad.
Stability in eastern Ukraine also likely to feature
ADVERTISEMENTThe US Secretary of State is meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow on Tuesday morning.
This is an opportunity for John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov to mend their differences over Syria.
It comes ahead of international talks pencilled in for later this week, although no one is sure they will go ahead.
Watch live at 10:00 Moscow time the beginning of the talks between #Lavrov and
JohnKerry</a> <a href="https://t.co/SDLQcoP1sm">https://t.co/SDLQcoP1sm</a> <a href="https://t.co/u1wsW8FBek">pic.twitter.com/u1wsW8FBek</a></p>— MFA Russia (mfa_russia) December 15, 2015
Who is involved?
The US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow for high-level talks with his Russian counterpart aimed to mend any differences in the approach to the political process aimed at ending the conflict in Syria.
He is having discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He is also scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Follow John Kerry’s recent diplomatic travels here
Find out more about US Secretary of State John Kerry here
Find out more about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov here
What are they going to talk about?
As
JohnKerry</a> discusses Ukraine & Syria in Moscow today, I hope human rights in Russia is also on agenda as in 2013. <a href="https://t.co/c6bz02bYFP">pic.twitter.com/c6bz02bYFP</a></p>— Michael McFaul (McFaul) December 15, 2015
The conflict in Syria generally and the role of the country’s President Bashar al-Assad specifically.
Moscow and Washington do not agree on what, if any, role President Assad should play in the process to resolve the conflict in his country.
Washington insists he must stand down.
Russia says only the Syrian people themselves can decide this. Regime change must not be the goal of any international action.
Why?
Plans are afoot for more international talks later this week about the situation in Syria.
It is not clear yet whether the meeting will take place.
Moscow has said certain “preconditions” will have to be met beforehand. The US State Department has denied this.
Negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition have been tentatively scheduled for January next year.
Is anything else on the table?
Map. Situation in eastern #Ukraine, December 13, 2015, 00:00 EET pic.twitter.com/qMQ0vmIXxB
— uacrisis (@uacrisis) December 13, 2015
In eastern #Ukraine 9,000+ have been killed & 20,000+ have been injured since fighting began.
MatthewRycroft1</a> <a href="https://t.co/6mQQ10puEP">pic.twitter.com/6mQQ10puEP</a></p>— UKUN_NewYork (UKUN_NewYork) December 11, 2015
Mr Kerry may use the opportunity to bring up continuing efforts to restore and maintain stability in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine.
Claim and counter-claim in Syria?
Moscow says it is targeting known positions of ISIL fighters with air strikes.
ADVERTISEMENTA US-led coaltion, meanwhile, has been targeting ISIL fighters since September 2014.
Washington has accused Moscow of bombing moderate rebels in support of its ally, President Assad. Moscow has denied this.
Washington does not consult Damascus about its military action in Syria.