‘It’s either sanctions or impeachment’: Lavrov in trolling mode when asked about timing of his visit to US

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied there was anything odd about the ‘timing’ of his trip to Washington on a day that impeachment articles against Donald Trump were announced and the Senate debated new Russia sanctions.

Asked about the “timing” by a suspicious reporter following his Oval Office meeting with Trump on Tuesday, Lavrov joked that it was almost impossible to arrive in Washington at a non-controversial time, since something dramatic is always happening.

“It seems to me that, regardless of the day you choose to visit Washington, it will surely coincide with either sanctions or impeachment or something else,” he told journalists.

Democrats announced formal charges of impeachment against Trump on Tuesday, accusing him of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” in the ongoing scandal over an alleged effort to convince Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election in a way that would benefit Trump’s campaign.

Lavrov met with both Pompeo and Trump on Tuesday to discuss a number of common interests and challenges facing the two countries. Lavrov also mocked concerns over what US media framed as the nefarious ‘secret’ White House meeting with Trump, saying that not having members of the press at high-level private meetings was “normal.” 

On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also denied to conservative broadcaster One America News that there was any politically-motivated coordination going on regarding Lavrov’s visit to DC.

“We didn’t pick this date to coincide with the process on Capitol Hill, but we can’t allow the zaniness that’s taking place on Capitol Hill to impact our job,” he said.

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