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Tillerson hopes for open, candid dialogue with Lavrov

Tillerson said the Moscow talks "come at an important moment in the relationship so we can further clarify areas of common objectives"

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he expected his Moscow talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to focus on a number of important issues.

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Tillerson expressed hope for a "very open, candid frank exchange so that we can better define the US-Russian relationship from this point forward."

"I thank you for hosting these important meetings today and I look forward to a very wide-ranging discussion on a number of important topics," he added.

"Our meeting today come at an important moment in the relationship so we can further clarify areas of common objectives, areas of common interest even when our tactical approaches may be different," Tillerson said.

He also said the Moscow talks may helps the sides "to further clarify areas of sharp difference, so we can better understand, why this differences exist and what the prospects for narrowing those differences may be."

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