Judeh Warns on Jerusalem Tension, Will Work With Russian Federation in Syria

In a separate development, Russia and Jordan agreed to coordinate their military actions on Syria by setting up a "special working mechanism" in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. The government has given support to the opposition groups in Syria, including those extremist groups such as al-Nusra, to ensure Assad's downfall.

Tehran has also actively supported Syria's regime, although not as openly as Russian Federation. He was referring to Assad's surprise visit to Moscow early this week.

Judeh said there had been ongoing consultations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King Abdullah of Jordan on the situation in Syria.

"In this way, we can then create the conditions for the start and, I hope the successful reaching of a conclusion, of the political process to find a settlement".

Iran, which has furnished advisers to aid Assad's forces on the ground and encouraged its Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah allies to fight on behalf of Damascus, repeated its position on Friday that Syrians must pick their leader - code for supporting Assad who has held elections which he overwhelmingly won.

The United States remains adamant that Assad has no future in Syria. But nor do Turkey and the United States, close North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies. This is certainly a step in the right direction. It wasn't obvious Putin believed in the possibility, but he said Assad was on board.

Even if Putin did want to trade Assad away, says Vitaly Naumkin, Russia's internationally respected authority on the Middle East, "the Iranians are absolutely opposed".

"We agreed to continue to have further discussions and consultations, perhaps with a broader range of countries in order to see if we can arrive at a consensus for moving forward with regards to Syria", he said.

The coastal province of Latakia is in the heartland of the Alawite minority. Su-24s, Su-25s and Su-34s took off for bombing raids against militant targets, while Su-30 fighter jets provided cover. Rows of prefabricated houses for servicemen were flanked by neatly kept canteens serving fish soup, pasta, beef and other dishes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later declined to comment on whether Assad's future in Syria had been discussed during the encounter.

Syria is in its fifth year of a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands, contributed to a massive refugee crisis in Europe and been complicated by the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and Russia's direct military intervention. Thermobaric weapons were used to devastating effect by the Russians in Afghanistan.

"I hope that with Russian pilots' help, our military will advance and defeat terrorists so that we could return to our homes", said Ahmad Attan, a camp resident who served in the Syrian military and was wounded in the fighting. Moscow has dismissed previous reports by the Observatory of civilian casualties from its bombings as "fake".

In conducting the air campaign, Putin's apparent goals are to help cement the Syrian government's grip on the territory it still controls and to show that Assad can not be unseated by force.

The war raging in Syria took center stage for Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Friday as he kicked off a series of meetings with diplomats seeking common ground on a strategy to resolve the grinding conflict. This contrasts sharply with Russia's maximalist goals. Putin said on Thursday.