John Kerry seeks common ground in Russia ahead of world talks on Syria

US secretary of state John Kerry, in a visit to Moscow yesterday, sought to make progress in narrowing differences with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over how to end the conflict in Syria.

At the start of a three-hour meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Kerry said he wanted to prepare the ground for a third round of talks of world powers on Syria, pencilled in for Friday in New York.

It was unclear whether the meeting would go ahead without progress between Russia and the US over the role of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in any political transition and over which rebel groups should be part of peace talks.