US State Department Says Kerry Never ‘Fully Planned’ to Visit Moscow

State Department spokesperson says that US Sectary of State John Kerry is not going to Moscow during his upcoming trip next week, nor did he ever fully plan to do so, contrary to media reports that Secretary Kerry might visit the Russian capital.

WASHINGTON, January 30 (Sputnik) — US Sectary of State John Kerry is not going to Moscow during his upcoming trip next week, nor did he ever fully plan to do so, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Thursday, contrary to media reports that Secretary Kerry might visit the Russian capital.

"It’s hard to cancel a trip [to Moscow] that wasn’t fully planned,” Psaki said after being asked to confirm that Kerry was not going to Moscow despite reports he would.

Psaki’s statement comes a day after Russian news outlet, Kommersant, reported that Kerry might meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow from February 4-5.

Psaki did announce that Kerry fully plans to visit Kiev to meet with Ukrainian officials on February 5 and then will travel to Munich, Germany from February 6–8, to participate in the 51st Munich Security Conference, during which Kerry plans to engage in several bilateral and multilateral meetings, including one with Lavrov.