Russia's Lavrov says ready to cooperate with U.S. on Syria: agencies

[April 29, 2017]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow is ready to cooperate with the United States on settling the Syrian crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported.

Russian authorities reiterate periodically that they stand ready to renew cooperation with Washington on Syria and, more globally, on fighting terrorism.

Relations between the two countries, however, are seen reaching another low after U.S. fired missiles at Syria to punish Moscow's ally for its suspected use of poison gas earlier in April. Russia condemned the U.S. action.

Lavrov's deputy Mikhail Bogdanov also said on Saturday that Russian authorities hope that Syrian armed opposition will take part in Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan's Astana on May 3-4, Interfax reported.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference with Frederica Mogherini, the European Union's Foreign Policy chief, following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin