BALI, Indonesia — Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the United States and Russia were “very pleased” with the progress made so far in destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stocks.

Mr. Kerry, speaking at a news conference with Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, said President Bashar al-Assad’s government deserved credit for its compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the elimination of the weapons. Mr. Kerry said Mr. Assad was not off the hook, but needs to continue to comply with United Nations demands.

He said it was “extremely significant” that the first weapons were destroyed Sunday, just a few weeks after the resolution passed. “It is a good beginning, and we should welcome a good beginning,” Mr. Kerry said.

Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov met Monday on the sidelines of an economic summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Their meeting represented the first high-level talks between the two nations since they sealed a deal to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons.