Americas

Home page

Americas

Kerry seeks Russian cooperation despite deep misgivings within U.S. administration

14 July 2016 04:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Moscow on Thursday to again seek deeper Russian cooperation in the war against Islamic State in Syria, but he faces strong opposition from defense and intelligence officials who argue that Washington and Moscow have diametrically opposite objectives in the country, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Kerry's trip, which State Department officials say is his second to the Russian capital this year and his third in 12 months, takes place as U.S.-Russian relations have worsened with tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, aggressive Russian maneuvers toward U.S. aircraft and vessels, and a disregard for a cessation of hostilities in Syria, where Russia has bombed U.S.-backed rebels.

Relations between Moscow and Washington also remain strained over the Ukraine crisis and what the Kremlin considers NATO’s unjustified activities along its borders, raising fears that disagreements could escalate into confrontations, either accidental in Syria or the result of miscalculations in the air and naval encounters from the Baltics to the Black Sea.

Yet Kerry, it seems, still hopes for closer collaboration with Russia, to the disbelief of many officials who say Washington has no strategy on how to deal with the challenges Russia poses in Europe and Syria.

"It isn't clear why the secretary of state thinks he can enlist the Russians to support the administration's goals in Syria," said one U.S. intelligence official.