Foreign Minister Lavrov may travel to the US next week and hold talks with his Pompeo counterpart, but the two countries have yet to agree on a visit.

"The talks are being prepared," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today, without providing further details. Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said it could not confirm the visit to the US and talks with Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo of Lavrov.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not visit the United States after meeting President Donald Trump at the White House in May 2017. Trump was suspected of disclosing intelligence during a meeting with Lavrov and former US ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, but the charges were later dropped.

Russia-US relations have been strained for years despite efforts to improve bilateral relations by President Vladmir Putin and his Trump counterpart. The latest tense incident between the two countries was the Russian seizure of three Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait, near the Crimean peninsula in December 2018.

The US and its European allies imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea and conflicts in eastern Ukraine erupted.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider the US Security Protection Bill from Intervention from the Kremlin 2019 (DASKA) during its December 11 meeting. The bill proposed sanctions aimed at Russian banks allegedly supporting Russian electoral intervention, the aerospace and oil industries of Russia, and individuals directly or indirectly facilitating participation. corruption.