I watched it at the time and thought it was interesting that Lavrov reveled his pretty good command of the English language but did think it was a bit awkward--in that they didn't seem quite coordinated and it seemed hastily convened. It's been pretty obvious that they get along very well from the Iran Negotiation snips that were shown on MSM, though. I also wondered if Obama had approved their appearance together. Although my view wasn't as harsh as Max.
But Max thought it was a bad idea:
John Kerry just made a significant and consequential gaffe on Russia and Syria
Updated by Max Fisher on September 30, 2015, 7:44 p.m. ET @Max_Fisher max@vox.com
Early Wednesday evening in New York, a few hours after Russia's intervention force in Syria began bombing targets on the ground, Secretary of State John Kerry did something odd: He gave a joint statement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The two men, standing shoulder to shoulder somewhere in the United Nations building, said they were working to, as Lavrov put it, Kerry nodding along at his side, "establish channels of communications to avoid any unintended incidents" between their militaries in Syria, as well as work on the "political process" for resolving Syria's war.
They didn't say much. But the event spoke volumes, and probably not in ways that the United States wants, intended, or will find helpful.
This press conference was a bad idea
The statement was brief, vague, and unnecessary. Kerry, though he is known as spectacularly talented in behind-the-scenes negotiations, can be clumsy when it comes to managing on-camera stagecraft. But this was more than just bad stagecraft — it was a real mistake, one that could be have consequences that, while not world-changing, go beyond mere optics.
The image of Kerry nodding alongside Lavrov, the two of them discussing their efforts to "deconflict" in Syria, lent, however unintentionally, the appearance of an American stamp of legitimacy on Russia's Syria intervention. It will be difficult for the Obama administration to shake the appearance that it's decided to accept Russia's intervention and to deem it as legitimate.
That's more than just a gaffe when the entire world is watching to see how the United States handles Russia's Syria strikes and is waiting to take — or not take — America's cue.
More at:
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/30/9429039/syria-russia-kerry-lavrov/in/9204014
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