John Kerry Gets No Apology From Putin In Search For Allies On Syria
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Desperately seeking to sell the Syria mission, and still hoping to get Russian cooperation or at least acquiescence, Secretary of State John Kerry turned the other diplomatic cheek Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had called Kerry a liar, accusing him of deliberately ignoring the role of al-Qaeda militants in the Syrian opposition. In fact, Kerry has acknowledged repeatedly that al-Qaeda and its allies are a factor in Syria — and potentially a fast-growing one.
But hey, no blood, no foul.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Kerry said that he had spoken by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday and that Lavrov lamely claimed Putin was the victim of “some translation that was not correct.”
“Look, things happen in this process,” said Kerry. “I am not going to get personal about it. I am very comfortable that we need to move onto bigger issues.”
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