British, US foreign policy heads discuss Ukraine, IS in London

LONDON (Xinhua) - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday discussed the Ukraine crisis, the Islamic State (IS) and the Iranian nuclear program here.

In the opening remarks before his meeting with Hammond, Kerry accused Russia of being engaged in a "brazen and cynical process" over the last days.

Threatening with "additional sanctions," he said: "I'm confident that over the course of the next days, people are determined to make it clear we're not going to play this game."

"We're not going to sit there and be part of this kind of extraordinarily craven behavior at the expense of the sovereignty and integrity of a nation," he added.

Hammond said their talks would touch upon "how we maintain European Union unity and US-European alignment in response to those breaches of that agreement."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia will never yield to any external pressure in a gala reception to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day.

His remarks came as Russia's relationship with the West descended to its lowest point since the end of the Cold War due to the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine.

The West has been criticizing Russia for its intervention in Ukraine. Moscow has vehemently denied the allegations.

Turning to the IS, Kerry said there was a "unanimity" to continue to put the pressure on Daesh (IS) in Iraq and into Syria and "wherever they may be."

"We have the tools, we have the political will, we have the determination, and we are making gains in Iraq. Territory is increasingly beginning to come back into the hands of the Iraqi Government," the US top diplomat said.

"The Iraqi military is now beginning to stand up with greater capacity," he noted.

In Libya, he said there would be "a unanimous approach" over these next weeks that would begin to create "an even more coordinated and effective response."

Hammond said Libya urgently needs a government of national unity "so that the international community can put its weight behind that government in order to squeeze the terrorists out of the ungoverned space."

Kerry said their discussions also covered Iran's nuclear program.

"The P5+1 remains united on the subject of Iran. There is absolutely no divergence whatsoever in what we believe is necessary for Iran to prove that its nuclear program is going to be peaceful into the future," he said.