The U.S. has begun military talks with Russia about the current state of Syria in an attempt to negotiate some type of compromise and possibly allow Assad to remain president for the short term, with an immediate goal of ending ISIL's reign in the country, according to The New York Times. With Russia lending support to Syria, this talk was an important step to take for the U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the U.S. and Russia were trying to find a common ground, to move forward with Syria, although the U.S. wants to take Assad out of presidency for what Kerry calls the long-term due to the desire for a durable solution to the Syria crisis.
The Pentagon said that U.S. defense secretary Ash Carter spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Aljazeera reported. The two decided to speak more about mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign.
Russia has given a lot of support to Syria, having recently supplied the country with new types of air and ground weapons. Russia developed an air base near Latakia and has deployed combat aircraft there in recent days, including four Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets, four large, according to Reuters. It has been speculated that Russia sent 20 troops, including officers and contracted soldiers, on a mission without being told about the final destination.
Russia has officialy declined that they sent troops to Syria. "It was either a provocation aiming to lower the image of the Russian Federation in the eyes of the international community by suggesting that our military servicemen are going to the territory of a foreign country to fight," said Aleksey Tonevtskiy, the deputy military prosecutor of Novorossiysk. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he would consider sending troops to Syria if needed.
