US Starts to Understand Need to Work With Russia to Solve Syria Crisis

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he believes the Washington understands that in order to move forward in resolving the Syrian crisis, military contacts with Russia can no longer be avoided.

MUNICH (Sputnik) — The United States has started to understand the need for cooperation with Russia to solve the Syria conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

"For this [cessation of hostilities] to work, there is a need for quick response mechanisms, cooperation between servicemen 'on the ground' — both on humanitarian issues and matters regarding ceasefire," Lavrov said.

"Unfortunately, the United States has shied away from military cooperation, with the exception of deconfliction issues. Now, I believe, they understand that in order to move forward in resolving the Syrian crisis, military contacts can no longer be avoided," he added.

He added that it was necessary to fulfill the agreements reached at the recent session of the International Syrian Support Group, because the situation, when the reached agreement had been neglected by Moscow's partners, repeated several times.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Washington and some of its allies have been supporting the so-called moderate Syrian opposition, while urging Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign, despite his victory in 2014 elections. Moscow recognizes Assad as the legitimate authority in the country and maintains that Syrian people should be free to chose their leadership without outside intervention.