Putin, Cameron discuss Syria crisis, anti-terror fight

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday discussed a political settlement of the Syria crisis and the anti-terror fight.

Putin and Cameron, in a phone call, agreed that both countries have similar approaches toward the threat of Daesh, referring to the Islamic State group, and other terrorist groups operating in the Middle East region.

"In this context, issues of establishing bilateral cooperation between different state structures should be discussed," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"The Prime Minister and President agreed the UK and Russia should work together, with other international partners, to tackle Daesh and the threat it poses, and on the political process to bring peace to Syria," Cameron's Downing Street office said in its statement.

The two leaders also discussed the need to cut off terrorist financing, with Cameron highlighting that UK's first airstrikes in Syria had targeted oil fields of Daesh.

British parliament on Nov 2 voted to support a government motion on extending UK airstrikes against Daesh to Syria, as the UK has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh positions in Iraq since September 2014 as part of a US-led coalition.

Putin also invited British specialists to join the decoding of the flight recorder of Russian Su-24 warplane, which was shot down on Nov 24 by Turkish air force over alleged airspace violation that was repeatedly denied by Moscow.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin instructed the Defense Ministry to invite "foreign inspectors" and jointly set the true trajectory and coordinates of the flight before the aircraft was attacked.

According to the statement of Downing Street, Cameron pledged to consider Putin's request, adding it was important for all sides to wait for the investigation results on what had happened.

Russia has been urging for a broader anti-terror coalition after it started airstrikes against terrorist positions in Syria on Sept 30.

In another development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry also discussed the situation in Syria. Earlier Wednesday, the latter announced a possible visit to Moscow next week.

During the phone conversation, Lavrov noted the necessity to compile a list of terrorist groups and form a delegation of patriotic Syrian oppositions.

The two sides agreed that further steps to facilitate Syrian settlement should be carried out while maintaining consensus among all participants of the support group.

Kerry's visit to Russia next week would be the second in two years as U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated over the Ukrainian crisis. His first visit in May mainly focused on conflicts in eastern Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow.