Kerry and Lavrov to Meet Next Week in Zurich
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, and the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, will meet on January 20th in Zurich to discuss the situations in Ukraine and Syria, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. This meeting was agreed upon during a telephone conference on January 14th.
"According to the instructions of the Presidents of Russia and the U.S., while discussing current international issues yesterday, the Foreign Ministers continued to work towards the resolution of both the Syrian conflict and the crisis in Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry agreed to hold a private meeting on January 20th in Zurich," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
On January 13th, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin also discussed the situation in Ukraine and Syria during a phone conference. Kiev and the West have accused Russia of instigating the conflict in the Donbas region by providing separatists with weapons and other assistance. Moscow denies these accusations.
Russia supports the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and says that all groups that are fighting against government forces in Syria are terrorists. The U.S. and NATO claim that Russian aircraft have bombed moderate opposition positions in Syria that are fighting against the so-called Islamic State.