Putin to receive US Secretary of State May 7

President Vladimir Putin will receive US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, May 7, spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said in reply to the Itar-Tass question on Monday. “The meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon,” he said. On April 29 during a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Barack Obama Putin expressed readiness to receive the US Secretary of State, who will be on a visit to Russia on May 7-8. During his stay in Russia Kerry is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Earlier Lavrov expressed the hope that the talks with the US Secretary of State would be useful. “We are preparing a response to Barack Obama’s message to Vladimir Putin,” the diplomat said. At the end of April US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon visited Moscow and handed Obama’s message to Putin that included the United States’ proposals on how to find the way out of long-stalled missile defence talks. Lavrov noted that the talks with Kerry will focus on strategic stability in all aspects, including missile defence. “Of course, other bilateral issues, problems of international relations will be on the agenda,” he added. Earlier US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrel said the US Secretary of State hoped for serious dialogue during his visit to Moscow. He said Kerry planned to discuss such important issues as the situation in Syria and Iran and the upcoming G8 summit.