Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed the hope that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be ready to “inspect the wreckage” of bilateral relations the following day on his first visit to Russia.
“It’ll be of utmost importance for us to understand whether the U.S. administration will be ready to inspect the wreckage of our relations and find a way to move forward,’’ Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
Relations between the former Cold War rivals in recent years have wallowed at their lowest point since the Soviet era as they support opposing sides in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Ryabkov emphasised that improving relations was a focus of a phone call earlier this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Pompeo was scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and possibly Putin, on Tuesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“Pompeo had initially intended to come to Moscow but however cancelled that leg of his journey, instead going to Brussels to meet U.S. allies about recent threatening actions by Iran,’’ the State Department said.
Iran, a Russian ally, announced last week it was partially withdrawing from a 2015 agreement intended to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb.
The U.S. had also exited the deal.
Iran’s leadership suggested it would commence uranium enrichment unless crippling economic sanctions against the country were removed.
Lavrov, who met Iran’s top diplomat in Moscow as the Iranian announcement was made, blamed the U.S. for the deal falling apart.
