RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia supported a U.S.-backed draft resolution aimed at ramping up sanctions against the Islamic State group and cutting off its revenue flows.

    “We support an initiative by the United States including on the preparation of a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria,” Putin told an annual news conference, adding he had discussed the draft resolution with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week.

    “On the whole it suits us,” he told reporters. “We believe that on the whole it’s an acceptable proposal although some things still need to be worked out.”

    He added that he believed the Syrian authorities would also accept the draft resolution urging both sides to compromise.

    “Concessions should be done on both sides,” he said, stressing Russia’s readiness to help settle the crisis.

    He urged joint work on Syria’s new constitution, adding a “transparent” mechanism was needed that will help Syrians conduct democratic elections and elect a leader.

    Putin on Tuesday hosted Kerry for high-stakes talks, with the two agreeing to plough on with efforts to halt Syria’s four-year civil war and hold a fresh round of international crisis talks in New York on Friday.

    On Thursday the U.N. Security Council held a rare meeting of finance ministers to adopt a wide-ranging draft resolution aimed at squeezing the Islamic State group’s financing.

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will lead the 15-member council for the vote that comes amid a major diplomatic push to end the war in Syria.

    (SD-Agencies)