Updated 3:45 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris on October 14 to discuss a wide range of global and bilateral issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
"We sincerely hope that this dialogue will be constructive," spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters in Moscow.
"The sides will discuss the Russian-US relations, as well as urgent issues on the international agenda, including, of course, the Ukrainian crisis," Lukashevich said.
Late on Wednesday, the US Department of State has also confirmed that Lavrov and Kerry will hold talks in Paris next week.
Earlier in October, Russian Foreign Minister and his US counterpart have discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone conversation. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Kerry have agreed to continue "intense contacts" for further discussions of important issues on the international and bilateral agenda. The previous meeting of the two Foreign Ministers, held on September 24 in New York, was also devoted to the situation in Ukraine.
The relations between Russia and the United States have deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as Washington kept blaming Moscow for meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs.
Over the past few months, the United States has introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia, and persuaded its allies to hit Moscow with the restrictions of their own.
On Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that the United States could lift a number of sanctions against Russia provided that agreements on Ukraine's peaceful settlement signed during talks in Minsk are fully implemented.
