Kerry, Lavrov meet in NY for ‘thorough exchange’ on Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss coordinating efforts to end the jihadist violence and ongoing civil war in Syria, including a possible political transition for the war-torn country.

“It was a very thorough exchange of views on both the military and the political implications of Russia’s increased engagement in Syria,” a senior US official said, according to Reuters.

“They discussed the need not simply to de-conflict but, if possible, to get back to the conversation about a way forward on a political transition,” the unnamed official said. “They did discuss various ways to look at that.”

De-conflict is a diplomatic term for coordinating operations between military forces in an effort to reduce the risk of accidents between armies operating in the same region.

“I think the critical thing is that all of the efforts need to be coordinated. This is not yet coordinated,” Kerry said. “I think we have concerns about how we are going to go forward. That is precisely what we are meeting on to talk about now.”

Kerry and Lavrov’s meeting on the sidelines of the 70th anniversary meeting of the UN General Assembly, came as world leaders pushed for an effective strategy to combat Islamic State militants who seized large parts of Syria and Iraq last year.

The United States has built its own coalition of mainly Sunni Arab and Western countries to fight the jihadist group in Iraq and Syria, but Russia has taken another course.

Over the past month, Russia has been building up its military presence at an airbase in Syria, including fighter jets, tanks, helicopters, air defense missiles, personnel and other equipment.

Moscow is a longtime ally of Syria and has supported its president, Bashar Assad, who has clung to power throughout a brutal four-year civil war, despite US-led efforts to force him to step down.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instead created a rival alliance with Shiite-led states who will instead shore up the beleaguered Assad government in Damascus.

Moscow has denied that it is building up its presence in Syria to protect its ally, rather maintaining that it wishes to help Assad fight the IS jihadists.

In recent weeks, Western leaders have warned Putin that his country’s rapid recent military buildup in Syria would have a destabilizing effect on the region, and complicate the US-led coalition against IS militants in Iraq.

Putin and US President Barack Obama are to make dueling speeches on Monday before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and will come meet to

Obama and Kerry are hoping to use the annual UN summit to strengthen the resolve of their own coalition and build momentum for the fight against jihadist violence in the region.