U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pursuing military cooperation with Russia to fight the Islamic State in Syria, State Department spokesman John Kirby said in an email response to Reuters questions

“We believe this approach is still worth pursuing. But it remains to be seen whether or not we can get there,” Kirby said.

Kerry presses resumption of agreement on cessation of hostilities, creation of a joint center on intelligence data exchange.

Speaking during his trip to Laos, Secretary of State Kerry said he hopes the agreement between U.S. and Russia might be reached in early August.