Russian-backed Syrian army fights way into Isis-held Palmyra

Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington hailed cooperation to help end the civil war.

US secretary of state John Kerry met president Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an atmosphere that was noticeably more amiable than past meetings, reflecting new diplomacy the two cold war superpowers have championed in recent weeks.

Both men expressed hope for more progress towards ending the fighting. In Geneva, where the first peace talks involving president Bashar al-Assad’s government and his foes began this month, the opposing sides were expected to sign up to a UN document reflecting initial common ground.

Moscow is the main ally of Mr Assad’s government, while Washington and other western countries have backed foes trying to overthrow him during five years of a civil war that has killed 250,000 and led to the world’s worst refugee crisis.

Peace process

After

Russia

intervened with air strikes to shore up

Mr Assad

last year, Washington and Moscow have jointly sponsored a peace process that has produced the first sustained ceasefire and the first negotiations involving the warring parties.

"The serious approach that we have been able to co-operate on has made a difference to the life of people in Syria and to the possibilities of making progress on peace," Mr Kerry said at the start of talks with Mr Putin. "The people of Syria and the people of the region have as a result been able to taste and smell the possibilities of what it means to have a huge reduction of violence and receive humanitarian assistance."

Mr Putin, who has announced he is winding down Russia's military involvement in Syria, even offered warm words for US president Barack Obama, with whom his relations have sunk to a cold war-era level of hostility since Washington imposed sanctions on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine in 2014.

“We understand that what we have been able to achieve on Syria has been possible only thanks to the position of the US top political leadership, President Obama,” Mr Putin said. “I very much hope that your visit will allow us to bring our positions closer on moving forward to solve the Syrian crisis and . . . on Ukraine.”

The US and Russian-sponsored ceasefire between Mr Assad's government and his enemies does not cover Islamic State, allowing Damascus ramp up its fight against the jihadists.

After months in which the West accused Moscow of helping Mr Assad fight mainly against other foes, Damascus has launched a major offensive this month to take back Palmyra, seized last year.

Hotel district

The state-run news channel Ikhbariya broadcast images from just outside Palmyra on Thursday and said government fighters had taken over a hotel district in the west.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army had advanced into the hotel district just to the southwest of the city and reached a residential area, after a rapid advance the day before right up to its outskirts.

Palmyra has some of the most extensive ruins of the ancient Roman empire, some of which were dynamited by Isis in what the UN calls a war crime.

The peace talks in Geneva were due to be adjourned until next month, with the sides expected to agree to a document drawn up by a UN special envoy outlining principles, in what one diplomat called a “baby step” forward. – (Reuters)