The State Department said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would welcome his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Washington on December 10.

During a meeting at the State Department, Pompeo and Lavrov will "discuss a range of regional and bilateral issues," the ministry said on Dec. 8.

This is Lavrov's first visit to Washington since the controversial meeting between him and US President Donald Trump in May 2017. Trump was suspected of sharing intelligence with Lavrov and former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. However, the charges were later dropped.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said Foreign Minister Lavrov could come to the US next week and hold talks with Pompeo, but the two countries have yet to agree on a visit. Pompeo and Lavrov met in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The issue of Syria and Ukraine could be on the agenda between the two countries' foreign ministers, while the situation with Iran and North Korea is also a common concern of Russia and the United States.

Russia-US relations have been tense for years, despite the efforts of Vladmir Putin and his Trump counterpart to erase the disagreement. The US and its European allies have imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea and allegedly backed the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to review the US Security Protection Bill from Intervention from the Kremlin 2019 (DASKA) on December 11, which proposed sanctions on Russian banks accused of supporting intervention. Russian foreign elections, cyberspace and oil and individuals directly or indirectly facilitate corrupt activities.