MOSCOW (Sputnik) — 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.
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.
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.
The US-Russian relations took a yet another hit after Washington conducted a missile strike against the Syrian government’s Ash Sha’irat airbase in the Idlib province on April 6. Trump claimed that the strike was a response to the alleged chemical weapon attack in Idlib, an incident which the White House blames on Damascus without providing evidence. Lavrov said that the US attack was a violation of the international law.
On April 25, reports concerning the alleged resumption of the memorandum at the request of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson emerged in the media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the situation.
