No Deal on Syria as Obama and Putin meet...

 

 — US President Barack Obama and
his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met Monday as
talks between their governments on ending violence in
Syria ended without an agreement.



The two leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of
20 summit here, according to a US National Security
Council spokesman. More details about their discussion
were expected later Monday, but US officials said before
the summit that Syria and Ukraine would likely be on the
agenda of an Obama-Putin huddle.
The Russian TASS news agency quoted a Kremlin
spokesman as saying the talks lasted longer than planned,
and that leaders spent the bulk of their meeting discussing
Syria. The spokesman,Dmitry Peskov, said the meeting
went well, according to TASS.
The exchange came after a US official said talks had
ended between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his
Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who had been working
to negotiate a plan that would have boosted military
cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better
target terrorists and prevent civilian deaths.
But negotiators failed to work though differences, and the
talks have ended for now.
"There are still issues to resolve," the US official said.
Neither side indicated what the points of contention were,
or when they expected talks to resume.
Turkey says ISIS cleared from Turkish-Syrian border
Cautious optimism
On Sunday, cautious optimism prevailed that a deal could
be struck between Washington and Moscow, long at odds
over policy in Syria. Kerry and Lavrov had been working
"around the clock" to come to an agreement, Obama told
reporters.
Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that
Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists. The campaign
has spurred a humanitarian crisis and caused millions of
Syrians to flee for Europe.
The US hopes to align with Russia to identify terrorist
targets, including ISIS and the Nusra Front, a group
formerly tied to al-Qaeda. Officials hope a ceasefire will
help advance talks on a political transition that would lead
to the resignation of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Any deal to end widespread suffering in Syria was likely to
be met with doubt after past settlements, including a
ceasefire agreed to in February, failed -- a fact Obama
acknowledged on Sunday.
Why Obama shouldn't expect much from the G20
"Given the failure of previous cessations of hostilities to
hold, we approach it with some skepticism," Obama said.
But he insisted any work toward easing the deeply troubling
humanitarian crisis was valuable.
"It is worth trying," he said. "To the extent that there are
children and women and innocent civilians who can get
food and medical supplies and, you know, get some relief
from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the
effort."
Russia and the US
A deal on Syria could place US-Russia ties in a firmer
position as Obama prepares to leave office. Deep divides
over Syria have marred Obama's relationship with Putin,
adding to a litany of discord between the US and Russia
that's driven relations to their lowest level since the Cold
War.
This week's interaction between the two men could be a
final attempt to salvage what's become one of the most
acrimonious relationships on the global stage. Putin's
persistent support for the Syrian regime, Moscow's moves
in Ukraine and the charge that Russia may be meddling in
the US presidential contest have built a deeply antagonistic
dynamic between the two leaders.
Obama said on Sunday that Russian participation was
essential.
"Our conversations with the Russians are key because, if it
were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime
would not be able to sustain its offensive," he said.