Local Editor
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia and the US are close to striking a deal on fighting terrorists in Syria that would be a major step toward ending a war that’s flooded Europe with refugees and given rise to Daesh.
“We’re gradually, gradually heading in the right direction,” the Russian president said in an interview in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
“I don’t rule out that we’ll be able to agree on something in the near future and present our agreements to the international community.” Putin, a dogged critic of US foreign policy, hailed Secretary of State John Kerry, whose “patience and determination” in pushing for an accord before Barack Obama leaves office have made a deal possible. Russia and NATO-member Turkey, a key backer of some terrorists fighting the Syrian army, are also aligning their interests in the conflict, he said.
The US and Russia are intensifying efforts to find common ground in Syria, where multiple countries and multiple extremist and terrorist groups have been battling each other for 5 1/2 years.
Russia entered the conflict last year on behalf of Syrian President Assad, launching strikes by air and sea in its first military foray outside the former Soviet Union since it collapsed a quarter century ago. Hundreds of thousands have died in the conflict and millions more have fled.
Source: Bloomberg
