Russian and US officials are once again talking about the situation in Syria, or at the very least talking about the need to have new talks trying to unite against the increasingly powerful ISIS.

The talks are being presented as the start of a new diplomatic push for a political settlement on the ongoing civil war, though the signs are that the US is not taking the process all that seriously.

Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed talks with his Russian counterpart on the matter, but in the days after those Monday talks he once again was talking up “military pressure” to impose regime change in Syria as soon as ISIS is defeated.

With the US strategy in Syria already in tatters, the administration is clearly looking around for new options to claim they’re doing something productive in the war. US involvement in Syria talks will continue to be counterproductive, however, so long as they simultaneously talk up a settlement they don’t intend to honor and regime change they ultimately want to impose.