International security

Kerry in Moscow for Tough Syria, Ukraine Talks With Putin

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Russia to try and narrow gaps with Russian leaders over a political transition to end Syria's civil war and restore stability in eastern Ukraine.

After spending last week at climate talks outside the French capital, Kerry arrived early Tuesday in Moscow, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Before departing Paris, Kerry attended a French-hosted foreign ministers meeting to compare notes on the results of a conference of Syrian opposition figures held last week in Saudi Arabia that are key to the peace effort. He also met separately with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.

The trip is Kerry's second to Russia this year — he met with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in May — but his first since frosty relations over Ukraine were exacerbated by Moscow's intervention in Syria in late September. President Barack Obama has seen Putin briefly twice since then at international summits in Turkey and France.