Russia hopes for greater US 'cooperation' on Syria when Donald Trump takes office

Sergei Lavrov said he hoped for greater cooperation on Syria when Mr Trump takes office Credit: AP

Russia's foreign minister has said he hopes there will be greater cooperation between Moscow and the US on Syria once Donald Trump takes over as president.

Sergei Lavrov welcomed a commitment by Mr Trump to fight international terrorism and said he hoped the Trump administration would accept an invitation to peace talks on the Syrian conflict scheduled for 23 January.

The talks are due to take place in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

He said "we hope that the new administration will be able to accept [the invitation]" adding that the Astana talks will offer "the first opportunity to discuss a more efficient fight against terrorism in Syria".

Under Barack Obama the US has pressed for a resolution on Syria, but has been left at loggerheads with Russia which backs President Bashar Assad.

Mr Trump has said he expects the two will have a 'very good relationship' with Mr Putin Credit: AP

Relations between the two countries are at a historic low, but Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has indicated he believes ties could improve once Mr Trump takes office.

For his part, Mr Trump has expressed admiration for Putin and said he expects to have a "very good relationship" with the Russian leader.

In his wide-ranging comments to the media, Mr Lavrov said he looked forward to discussing issues with the Trump administration once the president-elect takes office, including on nuclear weapons.

The Russian foreign minister also denied that Russia had carried out cyber attacks on the US, saying the allegations needed to be proven, and denounced the former British intelligence officer who wrote a dossier on Mr Trump's alleged links to Moscow.