U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet in Berlin Tuesday with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for talks expected to focus on future prospects for war-torn Syria.
Washington and Moscow are at odds over how to proceed after convincing the Syrian opposition to take part in international talks on the conflict.
Russia is one of few world powers to retain its ties to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States and its allies have been pushing for the strongman to step down.
Kerry has said the U.S. remains committed to a political solution in Syria. He said the Syrian opposition, which has been looking for more international support, "is not going to be dangling in the wind."
He is expected to seek common ground with Lavrov, whose country has opposed supporting Syria's opposition.
Kerry arrived in Germany late Monday from London, where his talks with British officials focused mostly on Iran and Syria.
At a joint news conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Kerry sent a message to the governments of both Iran and Syria that they will have to embrace change or suffer the consequences.
He reminded Iran that the U.S. will not allow it to obtain nuclear weapons, and he warned the time for diplomacy is running out.
"The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot, by definition, remain open forever. But it is open today. It is open now. And there is still time. But there is only time if Iran makes the decision to come to the table and negotiate in good faith," he said.
Kerry also said the U.S. is taking allegations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai about torture and abuse in Maidan Wardak province seriously.
Kerry said the International Security Assistance Force is investigating, and he emphasized the U.S. has "listened very carefully" to many of Karzai's concerns.
"I can assure you we are finely tuned to the needs of the Afghan people and to the most effective ways to make this transition, together with our allies who have spent their treasure, too, in this initiative, in a way that is most effective," he said.
The U.S. and NATO plan to withdraw most of their troops from the country by the end of 2014. Mr. Karzai has given U.S. Special Forces two weeks to leave Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul, citing the allegations. An ISAF spokesman said Monday the accusations are unfounded.
Hague said the two men also discussed restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, supporting the new, fragile democracies of the Middle East and the threat of terrorism in Northern Africa.
But Hague also said the world must do more for the Syrian people and that Britain is prepared to increase its support for the Syrian opposition.
"In the face of such murder and threat of instability, our policy cannot stay static as the weeks go by," he said.
The topic of Syria is expected to come up again as Kerry is set to meet with leaders in Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The State Department says that in Paris, Kerry will discuss Washington's ongoing cooperation with France and other countries in an effort to stabilize Mali, the African country plagued by an Islamist insurgency.
In the Middle East, Kerry will meet with top Arab League officials to discuss challenges in the region and to seek greater consensus on how to solve them.
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