Putin, Kerry to discuss Syria, Ukraine, agenda may be expanded

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday will meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the Syrian settlement and the implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, however said on Wednesday the talks have no fixed agenda. Putin will receive Kerry after the latter’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "The Secretary of State and the minister will brief the president on their contacts, and a fairly wide range of issues will apparently be raised during the meeting with the president," Peskov said. Kerry arrived in Russia on a visit - a third in less than one year - late on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of State said the agenda of Moscow’s talks would including efforts by the International Syria Support Group for the sake of the cessation of hostilities, humanitarian aid and its better availability, promotion of political transition in Syria and the struggle against the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist group). Russia hopes that Kerry’s visit will help normalize bilateral relations. "The situation in Russian-US relations remains no easy," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The series of confrontational steps Washington has taken on the pretext of the Ukrainian crisis dealt a heavy blow on cooperation." Read more