Kerry, Putin talks cover Syrian crisis

Following an extensive six hour discussion between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and President Putin, Kerry stressed that any Ukrainian efforts to seize the Donetsk Airport through force would violate the Minsk Protocol and would face strict opposition from Washington, Sputnik reported Wednesday.

In addition to the Ukrainian crisis, the talks focused on a wide range of global issues, and while both sides still face differences in opinion, the two nations see eye to eye on a number of topics.

On the issue of the P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran, both sides are in agreement. Kerry stressed that “unity” has been key throughout the talks and will be instrumental moving forward in the final six weeks before the final deadline.

Both nations also agreed on the significant threat posed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group, and recognized the role of Syria’s destabilization in the group’s emergence. Both sides recognized that bringing a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict is crucial.

"A key task to resolve issues is to have dialogue between all Syrian parties," Lavrov said, adding that "all stakeholders must urge them to abide by the Geneva Communique."

Lavrov also stressed that he did not want chemical weapons to be a pretext for Western nations to pressure the Assad regime, and thorough investigations into the alleged use of such weapons should be conducted.

"We want the conscientious, professional investigation to be conducted, as well as the professional fact-finding, so that there would be no attempts to use the chemical weapons issue to apply political pressure, or as a justification of attempts to use force against Syria," Lavrov said.