Tillerson to meet Russia's Lavrov ahead of UN assembly

[NEW YORK] US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to meet his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Sunday ahead of the UN General Assembly, officials said.

According to Mr Tillerson's schedule, the top US envoy was to meet Mr Lavrov at the Russian UN delegation at 9pm, as senior international officials gathered in the city.

Ties between Washington and Moscow are at what Mr Tillerson has called a "historic" post-Cold War low, amid tit-for-tat cuts to each other's diplomatic missions.

But Washington wants to work with Russia to help resolve the crisis in Syria, where both have military forces deployed, and the rivals are trying to work through their differences.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin will not attend the UN General Assembly this week, but his US counterpart Donald Trump will make his much anticipated first address to the world body on Tuesday.

AFP