John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov are expected to talk primarily on Syria's devastating war. (File Image)
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Geneva today for an expected push towards resuming peace talks for war-ravaged Syria.
The pair sat down in a luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva at around 10:00 am (0800 GMT), launching into talks expected to centre heavily on Syria's devastating war.
On Thursday, the UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura described the meeting as "important" and said it could help his drive to resume peace negotiations for the country.
Successive rounds of international negotiations have failed to end a conflict which has killed more than 290,000 people and forced millions from their homes.
Moscow and Washington support opposite sides in the war, which erupted in 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt.
Today's meeting came as the conflict became further complicated by Ankara's decision this week to send tanks into Syria.
Turkish-backed rebel fighters have seized the Syrian border town of Jarabulus from Islamic State group fighters. But at the same time, Turkish forces have also shelled a US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia.
Russian planes have also been carrying out raids on Syrian rebel groups, some of which are supported by the United States.
But the US and Russia have a common foe in the Islamic State group. They have been in contact on efforts to establish military cooperation against the jihadists.
As a possible sign of tightening cooperation, Moscow vowed Thursday to work with the United States on a response after a UN investigation found that the Syrian regime had carried out chemical attacks.
The two countries also co-chair a UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, which has been struggling to ensure access for desperately-needed aid across the country.
Aleppo, Syria's second city and former economic hub, has emerged as a top concern since regime troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July.
Russia last week gave its blessing to a long-demanded 48-hour pause in fighting in the city to allow in aid, but de Mistura said Thursday other unspecified parties were still dragging their feet.