Merkel, Putin to discuss G20, Syria, Ukraine in Sochi on Tuesday

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi next Tuesday to prepare the upcoming G20 summit in July and discuss geopolitical conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, a German government spokesman said on Friday.

"The visit serves the preparation of this year's G20 summit in Hamburg," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a regular news conference.