The media announced John Kerry's visit to Moscow

US Secretary of State John Kerry may fly to Moscow on February 4-5 for negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kommersant said on January 29 with reference to unnamed sources. For several days, the parties have been coordinating the visit, notes the publication. Information about the possible visit by John Kerry to Moscow confirmed TASS by a Russian diplomat in Washington, adding that he can take place at the request of the American side. If the parties agree on negotiations, this will be the first visit of the head of American diplomacy to Russia since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. The last time Kerry visited Moscow in May 2013, at the moment when Russia and the United States began to exchange black lists of all -round citizens. Kommersant notes that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis will surely become the main topic of negotiations. The United States did not take part in negotiations on the situation in Ukraine since the April meeting in Geneva, recalls the publication. The US Secretary of State reported the desire to resume his participation in the resolution of the conflict escalation in the Donbass during a telephone conversation with Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Minister informed Kerry that Moscow was ready to “do everything from it in its power to encourage the parties to a peaceful solution when understanding that real results can be achieved exclusively through a direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, from which Kyiv is evading in every possible way.” Sergei Lavrov urged the United States to “use its influence on the Ukrainian leadership in order to refuse to bet on a military scenario.” It is noted that the heads of diplomacy of the United States, Russia and Ukraine may negotiate in the fields of the Munich Security Conference, which will be held on February 6–8. According to the publication, ministers will also discuss bilateral relations, in particular, the arrest in the United States Deputy Head of the Vnesheconombank office of New York Yevgeny Buryakov on charges of espionage in the country. In addition, diplomats will affect the issue of Arab-Israeli relations, the Iranian nuclear program, the situation in Syria and international efforts to combat the Islamic State. Against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the Donbass, US President Barack Obama accused Russia of supporting separatists with equipment, financing and troops. In addition, the American leader threatened Moscow with a tightening of sanctions. On January 29, the European Union Foreign Minister decided to extend sanction measures against Russia and the militia of Donbass until September 2015. Read also:
• The EU Council extended sanctions against Russia until September →
• US will support the European Union in sanctions against Russia →
• The FBI arrested the Russian suspect in the spying of a Russian →