Kerry says to meet Putin in Russia next week

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week on the crisis in Syria after Moscow announced the partial withdrawal of its forces.

“I will be traveling next week to Moscow to meet with President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in order to discuss how we can effectively move the political process forward and try to take advantage of this moment,” Kerry said.

In Moscow, Lavrov’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to the Russian news agency Interfax that the foreign ministry was making plans for a possible visit by Kerry to Moscow.

Earlier, the White House said “earliest indications” suggest Russia is following through with an announced withdrawal of its forces from Syria, where they have been supporting Bashar al-Assad’s forces against opposition rebels.

source: AFP