(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Washington and Moscow have agreed on some steps that would ultimately promote a political process regarding the Syrian conflict, while Russian and US-led coalition will establish contact channels to avoid unintended incidents in the air.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry late Wednesday, said they agreed to make sure the US-led military coalition against so-called ISIL and the Russian military operations in the Syrian airspace establish channels of communication to avoid unintended incidents.
Russian fighter jets have been launching airstrikes against what Moscow said so-called Islamic State (ISIL) targets in Syria, a move the US fears aimed at areas not controlled by the terror group.
Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama met in New York on September 28 and assigned their foreign ministers to explore ways to promote a political process vis-a-vis the Syrian conflict.
"We discussed promoting a political process. We all want Syria to be democracy, secular - home to all groups but we have some differences to details on how to get there," said Lavrov.
But, he added, he and Kerry agreed on some steps, which he did not mention, that would be followed up by exports who would work on creating conditions leading to the promotion of political process.
Lavrov described his meeting with Kerry as "very useful occasion" to promote constructive and safe approaches to situation in Syria and around it.
Kerry, for his part, reiterated concerns over the nature of targets pursued by the Russian warplanes.
He said they agreed on imperative to have military-to-military deconfliction process to avoid accidents.
Kerry said they agreed on several options regarding the Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011, but would take them to their capitals for further discussions.
"We believe it is imperative to find solution to this conflict and not to see it intensified beyond" everybody's control, said Kerry.
On a related development, Syrian National Coalition's President Khaled Khoja condemned Russia's military aggression in Syria, stating that Russia is not fighting ISIL, but targeting civilians in communities that have rejected the terrorist group for the past year.
"It is using its military force to support the Assad regime's war against civilians, and it risks implicating itself in war crimes," he said in a statement.
Khoja called on the international community to condemn Russia and take urgent action to protect Syrian civilians through the enforcement of a ban on aerial bombardment.
"I am writing to the Security Council today to demand urgent action," he added.
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