![Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry [Flickr: U.S. Consulate General Munich]](https://i0.wp.com/d2.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Lavrov-Kerry.jpg?fit=920%2C610&ssl=1)
Despite numerous declarations to the contrary, John Kerry, US Secretary of State, and Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, will meet on Thursday in Geneva.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the State Department told media that the meeting follows on from a recent diplomatic surge over the pursuit of a diplomatic deal in Syria:
Their discussion follows recent conversations on Syria and will focus on reducing violence, expanding humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people, and moving towards a political solution needed to end the civil war
Recently the State Department has been downplaying hopes of a meeting between the two foreign ministers, in reflection of American frustrations with the Russian support for the Assad regime and the lack of progress towards a deal.
Earlier on Thursday, Lavrov tweeted about his discussions with Kerry.
#Lavrov & @JohnKerry discussed cooperation in promoting political solution #Syria'n conflict https://t.co/Lhvi5dGKBc pic.twitter.com/JIkpP1LMo2
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) September 8, 2016
The two last met during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China.