Kerry urges Russia to change targets in Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry calls on Russia to change its military targets in Syria and reiterates sanctions threat over Ukraine.

"To date, the vast majority of Russia's attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups," Kerry said of Moscow's airstrikes in support of Syrian forces.

"To adhere to the agreement it made, we think it is critical that Russia's targeting change," he added during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

The comments come a day after Kerry stated that the United States and Russia had agreed to implement nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, noting that all members of the International Syria Support Group agree that peace talks in Geneva should resume “as soon as possible.”

"There's a lot of work to do before an effective cessation can commence," said Kerry, whose country together with Russia co-chairs a UN task force meant to find ways toward a durable cessation of violence.

"There is no way to adequately deal with the cessation of hostilities unless we do sit down and work together on every aspect of this, from the political to the humanitarian to the military also. And we are doing that now."

Kerry cautioned that "we are not approaching this with some sense of pie-in-the-sky hope".

SS