Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will start his working visit to the United States on Tuesday, which is expected to last through Thursday, APA reports quoting sputniknews.
Lavrov is scheduled to meet with US State Secretary Rex Tillerson on Wednesday. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Tillerson and Lavrov will exchange views on key problems of the international agenda and discuss topical issues of the bilateral relations at the upcoming talks.
On Thursday, the Russian foreign minister will take part in the ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum comprised of the eight Arctic nations, where the United States will conclude its two-year chairmanship by transferring it to Finland.
Tillerson said that Lavrov’s visit may indicate the rapprochement process, but noted that only the outcome of talks will reveal the current state of relations between Washington and Moscow.
Earlier in May, the US state secretary told Lavrov in a phone conversation that Washington is looking forward to further meetings and cooperation with Russia on de-escalation of the conflict in Syria. According to Tillerson, Russia and the United States have to improve the relationship that is currently at its lowest point.
Tillerson later said in his address to the US Department of State's employees that the "next area of priority is our re-engagement with Russia… We need to stabilize the relations that are spiraling down."
The previous meeting between Tillerson and Lavrov took place on April 12, when the US state secretary arrived in Russia and also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov said following the talks with Tillerson that the sides had reached a common understanding on several issues.
US President Donald Trump praised the bilateral meeting, saying that the negotiations were successful. However, later in April the US state secretary said that Moscow and Washington had not solved any issues during his latest visit.
Tillerson, the former chief executive of ExxonMobil, who used to do business in Russia, described the relations between the two countries as the worst since the Cold War, and added Russian officials said they had the same feeling.
Nevertheless, the sides managed to reach a common understanding that the US provocative missile strike against Syria should not take place again at the latest meeting, according to the Russian foreign minister.
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