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On May 14, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Sochi. During his trip to Russia, Pompeo met with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. This was the second time in a month that Lavrov met with Pompeo. After the meeting, the two diplomats made statements to the press and shared the moment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the meeting, Putin stressed the "exotic" character of the Mueller investigation and the fact that no trace of collusion was found between Russia and the Trump administration. Putin also observed that although "there neither was nor could there be any interference" on Russia's part in the US elections, the Mueller investigation produced a deterioration in Russia-US ties. "I hope the situation is changing today," Putin said.
Pompeo also expressed hope about cooperation with Russia on North Korea, Afghanistan, and on other issues. "We can also talk about our strategic dialogue," Pompeo said.
The state-owned Russian-language news channel Russia 24 mentioned that "strategic stability issues" were also on the agenda. The parties discussed the situation surrounding the INF Treaty, from which the US is withdrawing, and the START Treaty.
Commenting on the meeting, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told the press: "We said that we expected the US administration to elaborate on Trump's idea of strategic stability… And if Washington doesn't specify its position in advance, we'll have to take all required measures, in order to ensure our security and increase our defense capabilities." Nevertheless, Ushakov softened the tone by adding that Moscow is ready to return to a "pragmatic dialogue" on all aspects of strategic stability and on all aspects of arms control.
The video was translated into English by Vesti and was uploaded to the Internet on May 15, 2019.
Anchor: An opportunity to return to a full-scale dialogue between Russia and the U.S. – that was the main topic of the meeting that was recently held in Sochi. The U.S. Secretary of State arrived in Russia to meet with his counterpart. That’s the second time Sergey Lavrov meets with Mike Pompeo since the beginning of the month. After the meeting, they presented their press statements and shared the outcome with Vladimir Putin. They also discussed a series of international issues – Syria, Iran, and the Korean peninsula. The parties agreed that many issues affect the interests of both countries. I’d like to add that it’s the first Russian visit of Mike Pompeo as the U.S. Secretary of State.
Vladimir Putin (In Clip): Despite the exotic character or Mr. Mueller’s work, he should be given credit for conducting what is generally an objective inquiry. He reaffirmed the lack of any trace of collusion between Russia and the current administration, which we described as sheer nonsense from the very start. There neither was nor could there be any interference on our part in the U.S. elections at the government level. Nevertheless, that served as one of the reasons for the deterioration of our interstate ties. I hope the situation is changing today.
Mike Pompeo (In Clip): We have overlapping interests and matters in which we can be cooperative, we can be productive, and we can work together to make each of our two peoples more successful, and, frankly, the world more successful, too. President Trump asked me to travel here to communicate that as well as a couple of other ideas and projects. We can cooperate on North Korea, on Afghanistan, and on other issues. We can also talk about our strategic dialogue. I hope we’ll get a chance to discuss that. The entire world would benefit from that.
Anchor: Strategic stability issues were also on the agenda. The parties discussed the situation surrounding the INF Treaty from which the U.S. is withdrawing and the START. According to Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Moscow is ready to return to the pragmatic dialogue on arms control.
Yuri Ushakov (In Clip): We said that we expected the U.S. administration to elaborate on Trump’s idea of strategic stability. We expressed our disappointment with the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Intermedia Nuclear Forces Treaty. We discussed the situation surrounding the START. As you know, the treaty expires in 2021, and if Washington doesn’t specify its position in advance, we’ll have to take all required measures in order to ensure our security and increase our defense capabilities. At the same time, our president stressed that we’re ready to return to the regular pragmatic dialogue on all aspects of strategic stability and all aspects of arms control.
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