Three-hour talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry late on Thursday, were "open and serious," according to Kerry, the Interfax news agency reported.
Kerry, who expressed his growing concern about the slow progress in resolving the Syrian conflict despite agreements between Russia and the U.S., called for increased efforts, as Syria "is the main source and incubator of terrorists."
He proposed the creation of a special center through which the soldiers of both countries would be able to exchange information and synchronize strikes against terrorists, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, the Reuters news agency reported.
According to the Kremlin, Kerry and Putin did not directly discuss military cooperation between Moscow and Washington in Syria, and the two sides failed to make significant steps toward real cooperation on fighting terrorism, the TASS news agency reported.
"The conversation was a continuation of the constructive, frank and detailed dialogue," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "At the same time, there are still a lot of unresolved issues related to real interaction in Syria."