Russia and the USA have been praised by the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, after both states agreed to holding an international conference to help find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
On his first visit to Moscow since becoming the US Secretary of State, John Kerry met with Russian President Vladmir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which reportedly lasted over five hours. After the talks both Lavrov and Kerry held a joint press conference where they announced an international conference would be convened in the coming weeks to help end the conflict in Syria.
Kerry told reporters,
"Despite different points of view, committed partners can accomplish great things together when the world needs it... And this is one of those moments."
While both declined to discuss the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lavrov commented,
"We are not concerned by the fate of any individual. We are concerned by the fate of the Syrian people”.
The move was praised by the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, who stated,
"This is the first hopeful news concerning that unhappy country in a very long time".
"The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step".