No secret message: Lavrov didn’t deliver anything from Putin to Trump, says presidential aide
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not exchange any messages through Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov when he met Trump in Washington DC, the Russian presidential aide Ushakov confirmed.
Yury Ushakov on Thursday addressed journalists, rejecting earlier reports about Lavrov passing on a message.
During his three-day visit to Washington Lavrov held talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Donald Trump. Moscow has welcomed the results of the talks, but noted that it is “too early to draw any conclusions” as huge work is still ahead, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
“Of course, the fact that the conversation is being held is rather positive. The presidents have already talked three times by phone and further to this dialogue at the highest level, Mr. Tillerson was hosted in Moscow and Lavrov was hosted in Washington. That is why these facts are certainty positive,” Peskov said. He added that there should be “cautious optimism” speaking about any thaw in the relations between the two countries.
Speaking about the possibility of Putin and Trump meeting face to face, the Kremlin spokesperson noted that this may happen during the G20 summit, which will take place in Hamburg in July.
Lavrov’s visit is one of the highest-level contacts between the Russian and the US governments since Trump took office in January. The sides agreed to continue cooperation to solve international problems, including the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, despite any difficulties in bilateral relations.
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Prior to the meeting with Trump, Lavrov held talks with Tillerson, in which the two diplomats discussed progress in the fulfillment of the Minsk peace agreements and touched upon crisis in Syria.
