Kerry to hold key talks in Russia

US Secretary of State John Kerry is to hold talks in Russia - his first visit to the country since the start of the crisis in Ukraine in early 2014, BBC News reports.

He will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, but his talks with President Vladimir Putin are yet to be confirmed.

It is expected that Ukraine will be the main focus of the meetings.

The West accuses Russia of arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and sending its troops there. Moscow denies this.

More than 6,000 people have been killed since fighting began in April 2014 in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The clashes followed Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula.

State Department spokeswoman Mary Harf said that the trip was "part of our ongoing effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure US views are clearly conveyed".

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the talks between Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov, bud did not say whether President Vladimir Putin would also take part.

"We expect that Secretary of State Kerry's visit to Russia will serve the normalisation of bilateral ties on which global stability depends to a large extent," the ministry said.

At the same time, it blamed the US for provoking the Ukraine crisis and attempts to "isolate" Russia and prompting its allies to follow suit.

For President Obama to send his top envoy to Sochi at all is being seen as significant, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall in Sochi reports.

She said Mr Kerry may press the Russian side hard on breakdowns in February's ceasefire in Ukraine and reports of Russian weapons continuing to come across the border.

At the same time, one deputy Russian foreign minister described the agenda as complicated and not improving - which suggests tough negotiations, our correspondent adds.

This visit comes two days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a wreath-laying ceremony in
Moscow to commemorate the Russians killed during World War Two.

At a joint news conference with Mr Putin, she said the annexation of Crimea had caused "a serious setback in our relations".

Mrs Merkel and other Western leaders boycotted a massive military parade in Red Square on Saturday.

The German leader has already said the EU plans to extend sanctions against Russia, unless there is progress on implementing the Minsk peace deal for Ukraine in full.