Kerry to meet Putin next week to discuss Syria, Ukraine

WASHINGTON

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situations in Syria and in Ukraine.

Kerry will first travel to the French capital Paris on Dec.14, where he will attend "a French led ministerial meeting on Syria", according to a written statement from the U.S. State Department on Friday.

Kerry will then travel to the Russian capital Moscow on Dec. 15 to meet with Putin and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"They will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a political transition in Syria and related efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL [Daesh]," the statement said, adding that Kerry will also raise the ongoing issue of Ukraine.

Kerry's trip will be his second to Russia this year. He visited the Russian city of Sochi in May.

Relations between Washington and Moscow have been strained after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea last year.

They became worse when Russia began military operations last September in Syria -- where a U.S.-led coalition is targeting Daesh.

The Kremlin claims the airstrikes are aimed at supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Daesh but NATO believes Russia is targeting opposition groups -- which include those backed by the U.S.-led coalition.