Sochi, Russia--US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin held four hours of rare face-to-face talks on Tuesday as the two nations sought ways to cooperate after a sharp deterioration in relations.
The meeting during the highest level US visit to Russia since the Ukraine crisis erupted in late 2013 did not appear to result in any major breakthrough, though both sides expressed hope it could lead to improved ties.
Kerry's visit in itself was seen as a sign of the countries' willingness to improve relations.
A post on his Twitter account called the meeting with Putin "frank" and "productive".
Speaking after the talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kerry said Moscow and Washington should continue dialogue to try to resolve their differences.
"Today's meetings allowed us to better understand each other," Lavrov told reporters after talks on Ukraine and Syria.
Kerry, who also held another four hours of negotiations with Lavrov, said there was an "urgent need" for the United States and Russia to cooperate on confronting global challenges.
"There is no substitute for talking directly to key decision-makers, particularly during a period that is as complex and fast-moving as this is," he said.
He reiterated that biting US and EU sanctions on Russia could be rolled back, "if and when" the terms of a shaky Ukraine ceasefire were fully met.
Kerry insisted that all the terms of the truce had to be implemented -- something Lavrov agreed with at a joint press conference.
While there were "certain contradictions and divergences as regards to the origins" of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, "we definitely shared the view that it is only possible to resolve" the crisis by implementing the truce, Lavrov said.
Pointing to the success of an earlier deal on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons, Kerry said: "There is an urgent need, we agreed, for that same kind of cooperation ... the same kind of effort is now necessary on some other challenges that we face together."
Kerry warned all sides, including Ukraine's pro-Western government, that any further recourse to force would "be extremely destructive".
AFP
