MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia on Wednesday (Oct 12) said it will hold talks on Syria with the United States and key regional powers this weekend, the first meeting on the conflict since Washington froze bilateral ceasefire negotiations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to hold talks aimed at "creating the conditions for the resolution of the Syrian crisis" in Lausanne on Saturday (Oct 15), alongside top diplomats from "key countries in the region", Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.