U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will make his first visit to Russia next week, with the focus on the conflict in Syria and Iran's nuclear program.

The top American envoy made the announcement to reporters after his meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia- Margallo at the State Department.

"I will be traveling to Russia next week, and the visit, in my judgment, is overdue," said Kerry, adding he looked forward to the consultations, "particularly given the range of issues that we need to discuss, from Syria to Iran to the upcoming G8 summit in little more than a month" in Northern Ireland.

Conflicts over approaches to the crisis in Syria, which has dragged on for more than two years, leaving more than 70,000 people killed, and other issues like the missile defense system of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and human rights, have strained bilateral relations, despite U.S. President Barack Obama' s efforts to reset ties with Russia in his first term.

In his phone call to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Monday, Obama underscored his concern over possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, as his administration had come under pressure to intervene more in the fighting in Syria. The two heads of state agreed to have a summit in Russia in September following their phone talks.

Cooperation on counterterrorism is certain to regain prominence following the April 15 Boston bombings, in which two suspects of Chechnya descent detonated twin home-made bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring more than 200 others.

Kerry has met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov multiple times since he took office on Feb.1. Endi

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