Lavrov, Kerry to meet, discuss Syria, Ukraine, sanctions on Thur

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (PRIME) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry plan to meet on Thursday to discuss the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, in Ukraine, and the anti-Russian sanctions, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.

“The meeting is scheduled for November 17 local time. In Moscow, it will be the night of November 18 at that time,” he said.

“The ministers will discuss that…the Obama administration has once again showed its desire to suffer from phantom pains regarding Crimea through extension of the sanctions component of its policy in the Russian direction until the last possible minute. Of course, they will not omit this at the meeting,” Ryabkov said.

Obviously, the U.S. will not lift the sanctions until President Barack Obama is in office, but the issue became relevant after the U.S. elections, “and I am sure that the minister (Lavrov) will discuss the topic fundamentally,” he said.

Lavrov and Kerry will meet in the Peru’s capital of Lima during a summit of members of the Asia–Pacific Cooperation Organization (APEC), he said.

End