Putin, Cameron seek solution on Syria crisis

RUSSIA: Britain and Russia sought to forge a joint approach to the crisis in Syria, as US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was “strong evidence” Damascus had used chemical weapons against rebels.

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Black Sea vacation home to talk strategy, days after top US and Russian diplomats agreed to work together on a solution to the bloody conflict.

But in Warsaw, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Moscow was continuing to fulfil contracts by delivering military hardware to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in defiance of calls for a freeze. The West and Russia have been repeatedly at odds over the Syria conflict, with the United States and Europe accusing Moscow of seeking to prop up Assad and selling him arms.

In cordial comments amid the tropical shrubbery of the garden at his Black Sea residence, Putin said he and Cameron had discussed possible options and joint measures for finding peace in Syria, after more than two years of war. However there was no sign of an immediate breakthrough, despite the warm tone that was a contrast to the tensions that have bedevilled relations between London and Moscow for years.

AFP