After an earlier meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared with Russia’s foreign minister and spoke about the conflict in Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)

(VOVworld) - US Secretary of State John Kerry held more than four hours of talks on Tuesday in Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the highest level US talks in Russia since the Ukraine crisis began.

Mr. Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, met separately for more than four hours beforehand. Their discussions focused on the Ukraine crisis, Teheran’s nuclear program, and the Syrian conflict.

Mr. Kerry is scheduled to leave Sochi for Turkey on Wednesday to attend a key NATO meeting. He will then return to Washington to join a Gulf summit held by US President Barack Obama at the presidential retreat at Camp David.