Russia backs US move to cut fund flow to IS

“We support an initiative by the United States on the preparation of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria,” Putin told an annual news conference, adding he had discussed the draft resolution with US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week. “On the whole it suits us,” he told reporters. “We believe that on the whole it’s an acceptable proposal although some things still need to be worked out.”

He added that he believed the Syrian authorities would also accept the draft resolution urging both sides to compromise. “Concessions should be done on both sides,” he said, stressing Russia’s readiness to help settle the crisis. He urged joint work on Syria’s new constitution, adding a “transparent” mechanism was needed that will help Syrians conduct democratic elections and elect a leader.

Putin on Tuesday hosted Kerry for high-stakes talks, with the two agreeing to plough on with efforts to halt Syria’s four-year civil war and hold a fresh round of international crisis talks in New York. Russia has been carrying out air strikes in the war-ravaged nation at the request of President Bashar al-Assad since the end of September, while a US-led coalition is conducting its own campaign targeting the Islamic State group.

The US military said it was removing 12 fighter jets from Incirlik air base in Turkey after sending them there last month to bolster the fight against Islamic State and to help reassure Turkey after Russian incursions in its airspace.

The Pentagon played down the decision, saying the jets had completed a temporary deployment within Europe. It noted new commitments by allies France, Britain and Germany since the high-profile US deployment. The move came less than a month after NATO ally Turkey shot down a Russian warplane, heightening tensions between Moscow and Ankara and leading Russia to stiffen its air defenses in Syria. The announcement came a day after US Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Incirlik and spoke with US troops there.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to push efforts to end the conflict in Syria, the State Department said.

The meeting aims to “reinforce efforts to accelerate an end to the conflict, including necessary formal negotiations between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a news briefing. While in New York, Kerry will also host a meeting of the International Syria Support Group to discuss “efforts to foster a nationwide ceasefire and parallel political transition negotiations to end the conflict while intensifying the fight” against Islamic State, Kirby said.

NATO plans to send air defence support to Turkey partly to minimise the risk of Ankara shooting down another Russian warplane while assuaging its fears of a spillover from the conflict in Syria, senior alliance sources say.

The mission, expected to be approved by the Western defence alliance’s council on Friday, has been under preparation for 10 months, long before the incident with Russia, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said it is not linked. But NATO sources said the shooting down had galvanised allies to come forward with more support and tailor the assistance to help lower tensions between Moscow and Ankara by taking a role in managing Turkish airspace.