The United States and Russia issued a presidential joint statement saying there was &quot;no military solution&quot; to the war in Syria after their leaders met briefly on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam.

There had been mixed messages for days from both Moscow and the White House on whether President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would hold face-to-face discussions during the APEC summit in Danang.

The statement, issued by officials from both sides, said the two presidents had made progress on Syria, which has been battered by six years of civil war.

The US and Russia have backed competing factions in the bloody conflict, and agreement on the next steps towards peace is rare.

&quot;The presidents agreed that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria,&quot; the statement said, adding that the two sides &quot;confirmed their determination to defeat ISIS&quot; -- an alternative name for the Islamic State jihadist group.

The statement added that the two sides had agreed to keep military channels open to avoid potential clashes over Syria and urged the warring sides to participate in UN-led peace talks in Geneva.

Russia has run a major bombing campaign in Syria since 2015, when it stepped in to support President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s fight against rebels -- some of them US-backed -- tipping the conflict in his favour.

The Russian military has recently accused the United States of merely &quot;pretending&quot; to fight IS in Iraq and of hindering the Russian-backed offensive in eastern Syria.

But Saturday&#39;s joint statement expressed satisfaction with efforts to prevent incidents between their respective forces in Syria.

&quot;The Presidents affirmed their commitment to Syria&#39;s sovereignty, unity, independence, territorial integrity, and non-sectarian character,&quot; it said.

According to senior State Department officials, the statement was the result of &quot;months of fairly intense discussions&quot; and was finalised on the margins of the APEC summit between diplomats.

It represents Russia&#39;s firm committment to the UN-backed peace process, one of the officials said.

&quot;We made very clear that there will not be any reconstruction aid in Syria until there is a meaningful political process moving along the timeline,&quot; he said.

&quot;I cannot speak to the Russians, but I think it might be one of the reasons why they clearly committed to the fact that the ultimate resolution to the civil war will be under the Geneva process,&quot; he added.

A new round of talks is scheduled to be held in Geneva from November 28, the UN special envoy for Syria announced Thursday.

There have been seven previous sessions between the Syrian regime and the opposition, which failed to overcome the main obstacle -- the fate of President Assad.

Haunted relationship 
 
Trump&#39;s relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his presidency, with key former aides under a US investigation for alleged collaboration with the Kremlin.

Putin and Trump last held face-to-face talks at a G20 summit earlier in the year, and there was intense speculation over whether they would so do again in Danang.&nbsp;

After the pair met on the sidelines of the APEC summit, Trump said he believes Putin was sincere when he denied meddling in the US election that propelled Trump to power, adding that the Russian leader felt &quot;very insulted&quot; by the allegations.

Overly amicable talks between Trump and Putin in Vietnam risked being an awkward sell for the White House, as it vigorously denies any undue links with the Kremlin. 
&nbsp;

The US and Russia issued a presidential joint statement saying there was 'no military solution' to the war in Syria after their leaders met briefly on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam

The United States and Russia issued a presidential joint statement saying there was "no military solution" to the war in Syria after their leaders met briefly on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam. There had been mixed messages for days from both Moscow and the White House on whether President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would hold face-to-face discussions during the APEC summit in Danang. The statement, issued by officials from both sides, said the two presidents had made progress on Syria, which has been battered by six years of civil war. The US and Russia have backed competing factions in the bloody conflict, and agreement on the next steps towards peace is rare. "The presidents agreed that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria," the statement said, adding that the two sides "confirmed their determination to defeat ISIS" -- an alternative name for the Islamic State jihadist group. The statement added that the two sides had agreed to keep military channels open to avoid potential clashes over Syria and urged the warring sides to participate in UN-led peace talks in Geneva. Russia has run a major bombing campaign in Syria since 2015, when it stepped in to support President Bashar al-Assad's fight against rebels -- some of them US-backed -- tipping the conflict in his favour. The Russian military has recently accused the United States of merely "pretending" to fight IS in Iraq and of hindering the Russian-backed offensive in eastern Syria. But Saturday's joint statement expressed satisfaction with efforts to prevent incidents between their respective forces in Syria. "The Presidents affirmed their commitment to Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence, territorial integrity, and non-sectarian character," it said. According to senior State Department officials, the statement was the result of "months of fairly intense discussions" and was finalised on the margins of the APEC summit between diplomats. It represents Russia's firm committment to the UN-backed peace process, one of the officials said. "We made very clear that there will not be any reconstruction aid in Syria until there is a meaningful political process moving along the timeline," he said. "I cannot speak to the Russians, but I think it might be one of the reasons why they clearly committed to the fact that the ultimate resolution to the civil war will be under the Geneva process," he added. A new round of talks is scheduled to be held in Geneva from November 28, the UN special envoy for Syria announced Thursday. There have been seven previous sessions between the Syrian regime and the opposition, which failed to overcome the main obstacle -- the fate of President Assad. Haunted relationship Trump's relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his presidency, with key former aides under a US investigation for alleged collaboration with the Kremlin. Putin and Trump last held face-to-face talks at a G20 summit earlier in the year, and there was intense speculation over whether they would so do again in Danang. After the pair met on the sidelines of the APEC summit, Trump said he believes Putin was sincere when he denied meddling in the US election that propelled Trump to power, adding that the Russian leader felt "very insulted" by the allegations. Overly amicable talks between Trump and Putin in Vietnam risked being an awkward sell for the White House, as it vigorously denies any undue links with the Kremlin.

Trump, Putin agree 'no military solution' in Syria

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed steps to ease Syria&#39;s civil war and a possible first face-to-face meeting, during what the White House described as a &quot;very good call&quot; Tuesday.

The US and Russian leaders spoke by telephone, focusing on the six-year-old Syrian conflict, which has pitched Moscow and Washington into rival camps.

&quot;President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence,&quot; the White House said.

Trump aides also said &quot;the conversation was a very good one&quot; that included &quot;discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones&quot; in Syria &quot;to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.&quot;

The White House said the two leaders also spoke about &quot;how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea.&quot;

And the Kremlin added that both men were &quot;in favour&quot; of meeting at a G-20 summit in Germany this July.

That meeting is sure to be closely watched in the United States, where Trump has come under sustained criticism over his campaign&#39;s ties to Russia and his praise of Putin.

US intelligence agencies believe that Putin approved of a wide-ranging campaign to tilt the 2016 election in Trump&#39;s favour, prompting US sanctions imposed by former president Barack Obama.

The FBI is still investigating possible collusion between the campaign and Moscow.

Trump has been muted in his criticism, but tensions between the White House and the Kremlin have resurfaced after the suspected use of the chemical agent sarin against civilians prompted Trump to strike a Syrian regime airbase also used by Russia.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the call -- which he sat in on -- was &quot;very productive&quot; with &quot;a lot of detailed exchanges.&quot;

&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ll see where we go from here.&quot;

No details were given about the possible safe zones, which have long been discussed, but faltered as Bashar al-Assad&#39;s regime and assorted groups of rebels, Kurds, Iranian-backed militias, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters have kept-up a bloody war that has killed an estimated half million people.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said &quot;the emphasis was put on the potential for coordination of actions by the United States and Russia in the fight against terrorism.&quot;

The State Department earlier announced that it would send a junior minister to Russian-backed peace talks in Astana later this week. 
 
(AFP)

The two presidents agreed that all parties must do all they can to end the violence in Syria

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed steps to ease Syria's civil war and a possible first face-to-face meeting, during what the White House described as a "very good call" Tuesday. The US and Russian leaders spoke by telephone, focusing on the six-year-old Syrian conflict, which has pitched Moscow and Washington into rival camps. "President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence," the White House said. Trump aides also said "the conversation was a very good one" that included "discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones" in Syria "to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons." The White House said the two leaders also spoke about "how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea." And the Kremlin added that both men were "in favour" of meeting at a G-20 summit in Germany this July. That meeting is sure to be closely watched in the United States, where Trump has come under sustained criticism over his campaign's ties to Russia and his praise of Putin. US intelligence agencies believe that Putin approved of a wide-ranging campaign to tilt the 2016 election in Trump's favour, prompting US sanctions imposed by former president Barack Obama. The FBI is still investigating possible collusion between the campaign and Moscow. Trump has been muted in his criticism, but tensions between the White House and the Kremlin have resurfaced after the suspected use of the chemical agent sarin against civilians prompted Trump to strike a Syrian regime airbase also used by Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the call -- which he sat in on -- was "very productive" with "a lot of detailed exchanges." "We'll see where we go from here." No details were given about the possible safe zones, which have long been discussed, but faltered as Bashar al-Assad's regime and assorted groups of rebels, Kurds, Iranian-backed militias, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters have kept-up a bloody war that has killed an estimated half million people. The Kremlin, meanwhile, said "the emphasis was put on the potential for coordination of actions by the United States and Russia in the fight against terrorism." The State Department earlier announced that it would send a junior minister to Russian-backed peace talks in Astana later this week. (AFP)

Trump, Putin discuss face-to-face meeting, Syria peace zones in 'very good call'

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Trump, Putin agree 'no military solution' in Syria

Trump, Putin discuss face-to-face meeting, Syria peace zones in 'very good call'