Moscow Ready for Coordinated Anti-Terrorist Efforts with US — Kremlin

MOSCOW- Kremlin confirms that Moscow is ready to coordinate joint efforts with the US in fight against terrorism in Syria.

“I want to recall repeated statements of President Vladimir Putin, who said the Kremlin believed from the very start that an efficient fight against terrorism on the territory of Syria and bordering states was possible only in joint action, through coordinating joint efforts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, according to Itar Tass.

 “Not just an exchange of information, but exactly coordination of joint efforts,” he marked. “Putin has repeatedly expressed regrets over our American partners’ rejecting such cooperation,” president’s spokesman said.

“And of course, this position remains topical,” he added.

The Kremlin is not ready to comment on the idea to establish a joint center with the United States for coordinating the anti-terrorist efforts in Syria until this proposal is officially made.

“I cannot comment on this so far, because it’s newspaper information,” he told reporters.

The Kremlin spokesman said that “contacts of the US state secretary John Kerry with the president of Russia Vladimir Putin will take place today, and the main talks will be held tomorrow – with his (Kerry’s) counterpart (Foreign Minister Sergey) Lavrov.” “After we familiarize with the proposals not from the newspaper materials, but get the first-hand information, we will be able to talk on something,” the Kremlin official said.

According to previous media reports, the United States may propose to Russia to establish a new center for the coordination of the air anti-terrorist campaign in Syria. The place for the center’s deployment was also named – Jordan. The purpose of the new center will be “to enable expanded coordination between the United States and the Russian Federation beyond the established safety of flight procedures” and “work to maximize independent, but synchronized, efforts against Daesh  in Syria”.

The proposals are expected to be the keynote of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks in Moscow on Thursday and Friday.

Itar Tass

H.M