US Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Geneva for yet another meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to try to forge a nationwide truce in Syria, improve humanitarian aid deliveries and restart peace talks.
The US State Department says Kerry will departing on Thursday to see Lavrov on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Russian foreign ministry announced the pair would meet on Thursday and Friday, but the US State Department never confirmed two days of talks.
Since August 26, Kerry and Lavrov have met three times to discuss Syria, once in Geneva and twice in Hangzhou, China. The State Department says they have spoken by phone four times in the past two days: three times Wednesday and once Thursday.
Lavrov briefly met with the UN special envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, at a lakefront hotel in Geneva on Thursday night. No details were immediately available.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has been conducting airstrikes to bolster his forces for nearly a year. The US supports rebels fighting to overthrow Assad and has called on him to step down.
