Pompeo Speaks Ahead Of Talks With Lavrov Of Hope To Find Common Ground With Russia

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published May 14, 2019 | 06:02 PM

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that he hoped to find areas of mutual interests with Russia and begin to improve relations at least in these areas

SOCHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that he hoped to find areas of mutual interests with Russia and begin to improve relations at least in these areas.

Pompeo arrived in the Russian resort city of Sochi earlier in the day and is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"We have differences. We, each country would protect its own interests, look out for its interests and people ... I hope we will find places where we have sort of overlapping interests and can truly begin to build out strong relationships at least on those particular issues," Pompeo said ahead of talks with Lavrov.

The top diplomat noted that he came to Sochi because US President Donald Trump was committed to improving relations with Russia.

"I think on issues such as arms control and nuclear proliferation, we talked about some of the regional conflicts and terrorism, I think there are spaces where we can get our teams and begin to build out common set of understandings. I hope that we can begin to build out our strategic security dialogue, as you and I spoke about when we were in Finland," Pompeo stressed.

The US secretary of state added that he was looking forward to his talks with Lavrov in Sochi.

"It is great to see you again, twice in a couple of weeks. I am excited about that. And then I will see you too, more likely, at G20 we will have many more opportunities for conversation," Pompeo added.