WASHINGTON
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Sochi, Russia, on Monday to discuss a range of issues including the Syrian and Ukrainian civil wars as well as Iran's nuclear program.
The State Department said the trip will be ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting and Kerry will meet Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"This trip is part of our ongoing effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure U.S. views are clearly conveyed," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
Kerry will then travel to Antalya, Turkey, for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers Wednesday where Russia, instability in the Middle East and North Africa will be discussed.
On the sideline of the meetings, members will meet separately with their Ukrainian counterpart, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The meeting with Ukrainian leadership comes amid discussions about attaching Ukraine to NATO.
Harf said Kerry’s stop in Russia was to enable him to speak to the Putin directly about the issues.
One of the main topics of conversation will be finding a way to get back to a Geneva-like scenario to bring Syrian warring parties to the table.
She stopped short of describing the trip as part of an effort to normalize U.S.-Russian relations.
"That's sort of a technical, diplomatic term. When you talk about normalizing relations with Cuba, for example. I just wouldn't use that term," she said.
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