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The US president may receive Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Washington DC on December 10, the first time since a controversial meeting in 2017.
"Foreign Minister Lavrov is expected to meet President Donald Trump and have a dialogue with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo," a Russian Foreign Ministry source said today.
Foreign Minister Lavrov at a meeting in Moscow in September Photo: Reuters
The State Department has not commented on the possibility of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meeting the US President, only confirming that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will receive his Russian counterpart in Washington on December 10.
This is the first time Foreign Minister Lavrov has visited Washington since his controversial meeting with President Trump in May 2017. The White House boss was then suspected of disclosing intelligence to Lavrov and former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, but the charges were later dismissed.
The trip comes amid Moscow's lowest-level relations since the Cold War, involving issues such as alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, as well as the war in Syria. and eastern Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump shook hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Photo: TASS.
The two countries are also about to reach a deadline to reach an agreement to extend or replace the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which is due to expire in February 2021. The situation of Iran and North Korea is also a common concern of Russia and the US, which can be mentioned in the meeting between Lavrov and Pompeo.
Russia-US relations have been tense for years, despite the efforts of Vladmir Putin and his US counterpart to eliminate the disagreement. Washington and its European allies have imposed sanctions on Moscow after it annexed Crimea and was accused of supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to consider a bill to protect the US Security from Intervention from the Kremlin (DASKA) on December 11, which proposed sanctions on Russian banks accused of supporting election meddling. Russia's foreign delegates, cyberspace and oil and individuals directly or indirectly facilitate corrupt activities.
