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Cameron to Discuss Syria With Putin in Sochi

British Prime Minister David Cameron will fly to Sochi on Friday to discuss the Syria crisis with President Vladimir Putin.

The one-day working visit will take place at Putin's residence in the Black Sea resort.

Cameron said the two-year civil war in Syria that has claimed more than 70,000 lives was at the top of the agenda for his trip.

"There's an urgent need to start a proper negotiation to force a political transition and to bring this conflict to an end, and I will be flying to Sochi on Friday to meet with President Putin to discuss this issue further," Cameron told the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Russia and the U.S. agreed to organize an international conference on Syria during a visit to Moscow by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry this week. Cameron said he had spoken with Kerry about Syria as Kerry wrapped up his Moscow visit on Wednesday morning.

"Certainly one of the key topics will be Syria, given how difficult the evolving situation is there," said Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Itar-Tass reported.

He added that bilateral relations would also be on the agenda.

Cameron's trip had been in the works for weeks, but the British government had imposed a media blackout.

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