Kerry to travel to Paris for Syria talks

Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry is to travel to Paris next week for talks on the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, the State Department said Thursday.

But a State Department spokesman was unable to say whether Kerry would attend a French meeting on Syria with Arab ministers called for the same day.

Kerry will be in Paris on Monday for talks with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, then fly on to Britain the next day.

On Monday Ayrault will also meet the Saudi, Qatari, Emirati and Turkish foreign ministers to discuss efforts to restart the Syrian peace process.

But US officials are working to arrange a new meeting of the broader International Syria Support Group, which Washington co-chairs with Moscow.

And State Department spokesman Mark Toner was unable to say whether Kerry would attend the French meeting -- even though he will be in Paris.

"We welcome those kind of efforts," Toner insisted, but added: "I can't say right now, as I said, whether the secretary himself will be participating.

"I imagine we'll have some level of participation. We do believe that the ISSG still plays a primary role."

Toner was also unable to say whether Kerry will attend another meeting planned by Ayrault for May 30 to relaunch the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

"We're still discussing it," he said. "I'm sure they will probably discuss it in Paris next week."

After Paris, Kerry is due to spend two days in Britain, first at an anti-corruption summit in London and then on May 12 to visit Oxford University.