Russia Says Putin, Trump Back Syria Commitments at APEC Meeting

by Dramelin 2:30 AM 0 comments

Trump and Putin speak ahead of the smmit photograph at the APEC summit on Nov.
The Russian government said President Vladimir Putin and U.
leader Donald Trump agreed to maintain support for the existing two-nation communication channels in Syria used in fighting Islamic State.
The leaders said they are satisfied with the joint military efforts, according to a statement in Russian published Saturday on the Kremlin’s website after the two leaders had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam.
“These efforts will continue until the final defeat of Islamic State,” according to the statement.
The White House didn’t confirm the Russian statement.
The joint efforts weakened Islamic State, driving them from key cities in Syria in recent months.
While Russian support has kept Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power, helping Putin expand Russian clout across the region, the U.
is seeking to ensure it has influence in any plan to help the nation recover from years of civil war.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of de-escalation zones as an interim measure to reduce violence in Syria and called upon all United Nations member states to increase their contribution to meeting humanitarian needs in the country.
Putin had expected to meet with Trump at the Asia summit in Danang, but Trump ducked a formal meeting.
The two did speak for a few minutes while walking to a group photo session on Saturday.
Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov and U.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did meet on Saturday.