US Secretary John Kerry to hold talks with Russian counterpart in Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov next week in Laos on the war in Syria.

Mr Kerry told reporters in Vienna that the meeting will be held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane. 

The US Secretary of State had



held marathon talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov in Moscow last week, striking an agreement on concrete steps to salvage a failing truce and tackle militant groups in Syria.

US and Russia back opposing sides in Syria's five-year war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.