Kerry tells Putin U.S., Russia share common interests in Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday the United States and Russia share common interests in Syria, including promoting regional stability and preventing the spread of extremism.

At the start of a meeting in the Kremlin, Kerry told Putin that U.S. President Barack Obama believed the two nations can cooperate on Syria, Iran, North Korea and economic issues.

Secretary of State John Kerry is making his case to Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia to take a tougher stance on Syria at a time when Israel's weekend air strikes against the beleaguered Mideast nation have added an unpredictable factor to the talks.

Earlier, Kerry arrived in Moscow for talks with the most powerful ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Over the weekend, Israeli warplanes targeted what Israel claimed were caches of Iranian missiles bound for Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based armed group.

Such weapons would allow Hezbollah to strike Tel Aviv and as far as southern Israel from inside Lebanese territory.


REUTERS/AP/LBCI