The Syrian crisis has widened the gap between Moscow and Washington [Xinhua]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told local media that military experts from his country will meet with their US counterparts in Geneva to work out how to separate Syrian rebels – deemed legitimate – from terrorist groups such as Al Nusra Front.
The meeting on Wednesday has been a key Russian demand since a ceasefire was brokered – and then collapsed – in early September.
“Indeed, an agreement was reached in Lausanne that military experts would try to do it as far as eastern Aleppo is concerned. Such a meeting will start in Geneva tomorrow. Let’s see what results it will have,” Lavrov told the Russian Interfax news agency.
Both countries held talks in Lausanne last week and invited representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, Iraq and Jordan in a bid to resuscitate efforts at another ceasefire.
However, little progress was made in the Lausanne talks.
Relations between Russia and the US had deteriorated in the past weeks as both sides traded blame for the collapse of the peace deal.
Washington blamed Moscow and Damascus for an attack on a humanitarian aid convoy and for increased attacks on civilian centers in Aleppo.
Moscow blamed Washington for dragging its feet on separating Al Nusra and other Al-Qaeda groups from what it called legitimate rebel groups.
Read more: The Syrian Humanitarian Crisis
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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