US, Russia set for first talks since Syria deal

BALI — The US and Russia are set to hold their first high-level talks since sealing a deal to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons and the onset of an apparent warming between Iran and the West.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov planned to meet Monday to discuss both issues on the sidelines of an economic summit in Indonesia. They will be comparing notes on progress made since they negotiated the Syria agreement last month.

International disarmament inspectors began work yesterday to destroy Syria's estimated 1,000-ton stockpile of chemical weapons. They're working against a Nov. 1 deadline set by the UN last month to destroy the Assad government's capability to produce the weapons.

Kerry and Lavrov will also be talking about Iran and its nuclear program. Officials from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, China, the Russian Federation, France and the United Kingdom — and Germany will meet with representatives from Iran in Geneva on Oct. 15 in renewed talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is enriching uranium to levels needed for medical isotopes and reactor fuel.

Western powers, including the US, fear Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb and have imposed crippling economic sanctions to encourage Iran to curb its enrichment program.