WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States expects to move forward with negotiations on the ongoing conflict in Syria during meetings at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), US Assistant Secretary Sheba Crocker told reporters on Thursday.
"We’re hoping to use the meetings at UNGA…to sort of advance discussions both on the political crisis and the ongoing conflict, the roiling conflict in Syria," Crocker said.
The assistant secretary stressed that the Syrian issue remains high on the agenda of US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"There will be a number of bilateral events with a particular focus, I think, on the humanitarian pieces of that, looking at everything from questions around refugee resettlement numbers to closing the financing gap that the UN humanitarian agencies are facing not only in Syria but, frankly, around the world," she said.
Earlier on Thursday, the White House confirmed that US President Barack Obama and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will meet on Monday in New York to discuss the situations in Ukraine and Syria.
Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011. The country’s government is fighting a number of opposition forces, as well as radical Islamist militant organizations, including the Nusra Front and the Islamic State extremist group.
