Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry will meet on September 8-9 in Geneva to try to hammer out a deal on cooperation in Syria, Moscow said Wednesday.

The two top diplomats agreed to a “personal meeting” after “working on the remaining details for an agreement” on fighting ‘jihadists’ and pushing forward the peace process in the war-torn country in a phone call, a foreign ministry statement said.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama held talks Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China but failed to bridge their differences.

Russia is flying a bombing campaign in support of the Syrian army, while the United States backs terrorist groups fighting it.

Lavrov also slammed new US sanctions slapped on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine insisting that it hampered joint efforts by the two sides “including those aimed at resolving regional conflicts”, the statement said.

Source: AFP