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Pompeo emphasizes need ‘to find a way forward’ during visit to Russia

This is Pompeo’s first visit to Russia as US Secretary of State

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo EPA-EFE/PETE MAROVICH

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo

© EPA-EFE/PETE MAROVICH

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo believes there is a need to find a way forward in relations with Russia, as he himself wrote on Twitter ahead of his visit to Sochi.

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Lavrov to discuss Venezuela, Iran and Syria with Pompeo on May 14

"My meetings in Russia will highlight a number of important topics. On some issues we may agree, on others we may disagree, but when it’s in our national interests, it is our responsibility to find a way forward," the tweet reads.

This is Pompeo’s first visit to Russia as US Secretary of State. While in Sochi, he is expected to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that Putin would receive Pompeo.

The US secretary of state said in an interview with CNBC on May 11 that he planned to discuss the situation in Venezuela during his visit to Russia and try to find common ground with Moscow on Syria and Afghanistan.

Lavrov emphasized earlier that the Sochi talks would focus on the prospects for extending the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). The Russian top diplomat added he would also like Pompeo to explain Washington’s views on ways out of the situation surrounding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program.

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