"It is possible to envision the army of Syria, together with the opposition, turning against Daesh, providing [Syrian President Bashar] Assad is not the long-term future of Syria," Kerry said in an interview with Sergey Brilev, host of the Vesti v Subbotu (Saturday News) show on Rossiya-1 television.
He also reiterated a longstanding Western stance against Syrian leadership.
A draft UN Security Council resolution adopted Friday calls for an immediate ceasefire, endorses a previously agreed timeline of a transitional government in Syria, holding UN-monitored elections and reiterating the call for the Syrian people to decide the future of Syria.
Kerry argued it would be "impossible" for the two sides to combine efforts against the jihadist group under Assad.
John Kerry said that Moscow will never win the war against terrorism in Syria while President Bashar Assad is in power.
"Russia can’t stop the war with Assad there because Assad attracts the foreign fighters. Assad is a magnet for terrorists, because they’re coming to fight Assad," Kerry said in an interview with Sergey Brilev, host of the Vesti v Subbotu (Saturday News) show on Rossiya-1 television.
"So if you want to stop the war in Syria, and we do, if you want to fight Daesh and stop the growth of terrorism, you have to deal with the problem of Assad," Kerry stressed.
The United States, alongside other Western nations, is calling for Assad to step down. Moscow maintains Assad is the legitimate authority in the country.
On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, endorsing a previously agreed timeline of a transitional government in Syria, holding UN-monitored elections and reiterating the call for the Syrian people to decide the future of Syria.
The resolution is seen as a compromise in the viewpoints of Moscow and the West.
