US, Russia Have Overlapping Interests, Places For Cooperation - Pompeo

SOCHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Tuesday said the United States and Russia have mutual interests and areas where they can cooperate to resolve issues.

"We did have a productive set of conversations this afternoon between us," Pompeo said as the talks got underway. "There's places we disagree, there's places I think there are truly overlapping interests that we can build on ... there are places that our two countries can find where we can be cooperative, we could be productive.

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Pompeo indicated that US President Donald Trump wants to strengthen bilateral ties, as this would benefit both countries, along with the rest of the world.

Putin emphasized that Russia favors restoring full-fledged relations with the United States. He added that he planned to discuss with Pompeo the stability of global energy markets.

Pompeo met earlier on Tuesday in Sochi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for talks on a wide range of issues including Venezuela, Iran and Ukraine.