US, Russia share same goals in Syria: Kerry

Secretary of State John Kerry has said the US is ready to engage in military talks with Russia regarding Syria, noting that Washington and Moscow “share the same goals” in the fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

“We share the same deep concern about ISIL (Daesh),” Kerry told Channel 4 News on Friday. “ISIS (Daesh) needs to be destroyed, stopped completely.

“The conversations with Russia right now are to de-conflict. The focus is to make certain that our efforts, which are going to continue, we are not abating one bit, we will increase in fact in the efforts we are making against ISIL, and we need to make certain that those do not conflict with Russia’s efforts against ISIL so obviously it’s important to have that conversation.”

His comments came after US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu spoke by telephone on Friday to discuss mechanisms in order to avoid accidental encounters between their forces in Syria.

Kerry said that it is necessary to “retool and calibrate” in order to continue the battle against the Daesh and eradicate the terrorists from the region.

The US top diplomat is in London on a three-day visit and will meet Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Saturday to discuss the response to the crisis in Syria and anti-Daesh campagin.

On Thursday, the White House said there is no military solution to the years-long Syrian crisis and sought cooperation from Russia to address the deadly unrest in the Arab country.

Washington “remains open to tactical, practical discussions” with Moscow over the issue in Syria, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Earnest’s comments came after Russia has reportedly sent artillery units, tanks as well as fighter jets to Syria’s western province of Latakia in order to help President Bashar al-Assad in the fight against Daesh.