Kerry Urges Putin to Find Common Ground on Syria
by VOA News May 07, 2013
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to find 'common ground' with Washington in resolving Syria's more than two-year conflict.
As the two men began meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, Kerry said Russia and the United States share common interests in Syria, including promoting regional stability and preventing the spread of extremism.
Putin said he looked forward to cooperating with Washington on the problems of the day, without elaborating.
The United States and Russia agreed on a plan for a political solution to the Syrian civil war last year, but they have differed on how to implement it.
Washington has insisted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave office for leading a violent crackdown on dissent, while Moscow has said only Syrians should decide the fate of their leader, a longtime Russian ally.
In Syria's latest unrest, a U.N. official told VOA that an armed group detained four Philippine peacekeepers in the Golan Heights on Tuesday as they patrolled the Area of Separation between Syrian and Israeli-controlled areas.
Peacekeeping spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said efforts were under way to secure the release of the Filipinos, who were seized near Al Jamla. The peacekeepers are part of a lightly-armed U.N. force that has patrolled a cease-fire line between Syrian and Israeli-controlled territory in the Golan Heights for decades.
Syrian rebels abducted another group of Philippine peacekeepers in the Golan in March before releasing them unharmed.
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