Obama Presents Russia with New Military Agreement in Syria

The United States proposed a new agreement on military cooperation with Russia in Syria, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

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The offer was sent to Moscow on Monday and hopes to share targets and coordinate in an extended bombing campaign against the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front, a U.S. official from President Barack Obama's administration told the newspaper.

The deal is backed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and has been personally approved by Obama.

In return, Washington is asking Russia to pressure the Syrian government to stop carrying out strikes against groups not considered terrorist by the United States and its allies.

Previously, Russia had said that it was difficult to separate Nusra Front from other anti-government groups in Syria. To address this concern, the Obama administration proposed designating entire geographic areas as off-limits for the Syrian air force, the source told The Washington Post.

Russia has been calling on the United States to cooperate in Syria since the start of the Russian counterterrorist aerial campaign in September.