FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is not in touch with the incoming U.S. administration over Syria, but Moscow sees Donald Trump as a better partner to negotiate with than Barack Obama, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday.

The Interfax news agency quoted Gatilov as saying that Trump had never linked the resolution of the Syrian crisis to the removal of President Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Moscow.

“As we understand it, that means he has more room for manoeuvre than the outgoing Obama administration,” Gatilov was quoted as saying.

Gatilov also said Russia would welcome Washington stepping up its anti-terrorism operations in Syria.

“There shouldn’t be any jealousy or rivalry here. We all ought to be thinking about the necessity of uniting our efforts,” he said.