Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow Tuesday and said he hopes to meet with President Obama soon, UPI reported. "I recently spoke with President Obama on the phone. We spoke twice and we had long, substantial conversations," Putin said in an appearance with Kerry before their meeting. "I had a chance to discuss many aspects of our relations. I got his letter. "I hope to be able to meet with Mr. President shortly in person. We will have a number of opportunities this year. I think it's very important that our key ministries and agencies, including the Foreign Ministry, cooperate in finding solutions for the most topical and relevant issues of today's world." Kerry said the United States appreciates Russia's cooperation in investigating the Boston Marathon bombing. Kerry said Obama,, who "is looking forward to seeing" Putin at an upcoming Group of Eight meeting in Ireland, "would reiterate that there are many issues -- economic, economic cooperation, the challenges of North Korea, Iran, Syria and many other issues -- of which he believes that we could cooperate very significantly." Kerry also said the United States and Russia "share some very significant common interests with respect to Syria -- stability in the region, not having extremists creating problems throughout the region and elsewhere." "So it's my hope that today we'll be able to dig into that a little bit and see if we can find the common ground," Kerry said. Kerry's two-day trip to Russia is his first since he was confirmed as secretary of state. Kerry flew to Moscow Monday. On Wednesday, he will travel to Rome, where he will meet with senior Italian government officials to discuss bilateral and global issues, including events in Afghanistan, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East, the State Department said.
