Kerry, Lavrov to discuss Iran, IS in Qatar meeting

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that he will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Qatar to discuss the situation in Syria.

Kerry told the Council on Foreign Relations on Friday: "I will be meeting with foreign minister Lavrov in Doha and we hope to be following up on thoughts we have shared and are working on about Syria."

Earlier this month Kerry said he would meet representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Doha on 3 August.

Moscow has held two rounds of peace talks with members of the Syrian government and opposition leaders. While the US has called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to be removed to solve the crisis.

US President Barack Obama argued earlier in July that Russia, Iran, Turkey and the US all needed to play a role in solving the crisis.

The death toll in the Syrian civil war death toll has reached 320,000 according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UN estimates the number to be more than 220,000.

According to statistics by both organisations more than 12 million Syrians are now refugees.