WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia are expressing cautious optimism that they have found common ground on how to move the Syria peace process forward when talks resume in Geneva next month.

The more positive US and Russian assessments on the Syria peace process come amid an increase in US-Russian engagement on the matter that has long been sought by Russia. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials March 24. CIA Director John Brennan also secretly traveled to Moscow for consultations on Syria in early March, Russian officials said March 28. Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon will travel to Moscow March 28-31 to follow up on Kerry’s consultation there, the State Department said.

“We are all encouraged that there is a sense of momentum now in the political process that we haven’t seen before,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said at the State Department press briefing March 28.

Kerry “felt very encouraged by his discussions in Russia,” Kirby said. “And encouraged by the agreements that we were able to reach with the Russian government in terms of the political process itself. … And now we have to get down to implementing those agreements.”