Trump meets Lavrov at White House amid US-Russia tensions

President Donald Trump has sought to advance prospects for co-operation between Russia and the US in Syria and elsewhere in a rare Oval Office meeting with Vladimir Putin's top diplomat.

Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's talks with Mr Trump were already destined to be a closely watched affair, given the dire state of US-Russian relations and diplomatic wrangling going on over a Moscow-backed deal to stabilise Syria.