U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan from October 28 to November 3, the State Department announced Tuesday. In Vienna, the top U.S. diplomat will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with foreign counterparts to discuss the conflict in Syria, the department said in a statement. Kerry then will travel to Bishkek, Samarkand, Astana, Dushanbe, and Ashgabat to conduct bilateral discussions with senior government leaders in each country, the department wrote. In Bishkek, the secretary will participate in the opening of the new campus of the American University of Central Asia and dedicate the new chancery of the U.S. embassy. In Samarkand, Kerry will participate in a joint meeting with the foreign ministers of all five countries. The meeting, a new format for dialogue between Washington and the Central Asian countries known as the "C5+1," will allow the participants to discuss regional and global opportunities and challenges. In Astana, Kerry will participate in the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Kazakhstan strategic partnership dialogue and deliver a speech on the region's role in addressing global issues. In Ashgabat and Dushanbe, the secretary will discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues with senior government officials, the statement said.
