More Details Needed on Moscow’s Proposed US-Syrian Meeting: State Dep't

Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that the US is reaching out to Russia to receive more details on the proposed meeting with Syria.

WASHINGTON, December 11 (Sputnik) — US officials are reaching out to Russia to get more details on the meeting that Moscow has proposed to arrange with the United States and Syria before they decide to attend it, Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

"I think we'd have to know what the details are, and what the agenda is, and what the objective is…" Psaki said Wednesday at a press briefing when asked if the United States would be willing to send a US official to a meeting with a Syrian official in Moscow. "We're reaching out to them [Russia] to get more details."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Wednesday that if Syrian officials wanted to meet in Moscow, he would discuss the issue with the United States. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Washington should coordinate the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria by having direct contacts with the Bashar Assad government.

Washington has repeatedly argued that it would not coordinate with Damascus its attacks on Syrian territory targeting IS — a Sunni terrorist group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012.

The US-led coalition is currently engaged in an operation in Syria and Iraq to prevent the advance of IS.

In March of next year, the United States will begin training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels to fight against the Islamic State in Syria and plan to instruct about 5,000 people per year, US special ambassador Brett McGurk said Wednesday.