The United States and Russia agreed Wednesday to strengthen safeguards on adoptions, hoping to remove a key irritant in relations as the two powers look to improve co-operation. On a visit to Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took up a range of issues from Libya to Syria to missile defence. In a rare step for a non-head of state, Lavrov met at the White House with President Barack Obama.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011