Sochi, Russia - US Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday held high stakes talks in the Russian resort of Sochi to press President Vladimir Putin to fully implement a shaky Ukraine ceasefire and urge renewed efforts to end the Syrian war.
On the highest-level US visit to Russia since the conflict in Ukraine erupted, Kerry first met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in talks that were stretching to more than four hours, ahead of his highly-anticipated talks with Putin.
At "a critical moment" for Ukraine, Washington was looking to ensure the "next steps in concrete implementation" of the truce deal, as well as to "see whether they (Russia) see an opportunity to do more together" in Syria, a senior State Department official said.
Kerry would also discuss Yemen and Libya and brief Putin on the negotiations on curtailing Iran's nuclear programme, with talks to resume Wednesday in Vienna.
After top US officials snubbed Putin's huge military victory parade on Sunday, Kerry and Lavrov shared a poignant moment when, watched by dozens of schoolchildren, they laid wreaths at a World War II memorial to mark 70 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Ties between Moscow and Washington collapsed when Russia seized the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in early 2014 and buttressed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
But after a year of tensions, signs are emerging that both Russia and the West may be ready to seek detente.
"We have a lot of business we could do together if there is interest," the senior State Department official told reporters travelling on Kerry's plane.
"It's important for us to keep these lines of communication open."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the visit by Kerry as "extremely positive" and said the talks would cover a wide range of topics including international "hot-button issues".
"Through dialogue we can search for a path towards some sort of normalisation of ties and closer coordination in solving international problems," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian wires.
AFP
