Russia says serious differences with US on Syria

Zakharova added that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov planned to attend an international meeting in New York on Friday on the Syria crisis. Kerry, who met with Russian president Vladimir Putin had remained upbeat. “The US stands ready to work with Russia,” Kerry told journalists after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. He added that the two countries’ officials had “a productive day”. “Despite our countries’ differences, we demonstrated that when the United States and Russia pull together in the same direction, progress can be made,” Kerry said.

However, Lavrov was also quick to tell the media, “We confirmed the agreements reached by the Russian and US militaries, including the agreements that also apply to the US-led coalition working against ISIL, and agreed on further steps which will help make our parallel work more coordinated and effective,” he said.Under fire

Russia began its air war in Syria on September 30, conducting air strikes against a range of anti-regime armed groups including US-backed rebels and jihadist groups. Moscow has said it is fighting IS and other “terrorist groups,” but its campaign has come under fire by Western officials who accuse the Kremlin of seeking to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Russia slams Turkey

Russia on Wednesday slammed Turkey for shutting down the window of opportunity for a constructive dialogue on Syria. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters. Zakharova said Moscow has started ‘open discussions’ with Turkey along the Syrian settlement track.” But Turkey has shut the window of opportunity for a constructive dialogue,” she said.

Reflective of the complex alliances in the Syrian conflict, Pakistan found itself in the cross- hairs of Middle East politics after Saudi Arabia included it in a 34-nation military coalition of Muslim countries to combat terrorism without getting Islamabad’s consent, media reports said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Saudi government surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a military coalition of 34 nations to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh. Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said he was surprised to read the news that Saudi Arabia had named Pakistan as part of the alliance, the Dawn reported.