Kerry said the "bedrock" of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions...

 

  "No doors are closed but nothing has been decided," an official said.

 

  Even he has refrained from voicing optimism, instead saying the effort was showing "a modicum of promise."

 

"We have a common understanding about these concrete steps," Lavrov said.

  Kremlin said that Russia in general favored cooperation with the United States over Syria.

  Kerry's trip is his second to the Russian capital this year and his third in 12 months

  On the call, Wang and Kerry also discussed the success of the recently concluded bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue in...

 

 

 

  A US official said flatly that Kerry would offer no formal apology.

  He would "emphasize U.S. support" for the government and its security forces