During his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US President Donald Trump warned them “not to interfere” in US elections, according to White House.
Trump also urged Russia to resolve its conflict with Ukraine, and he emphasized to Lavrov his support for global arms control that includes not only Russia but also China, the White House said in a statement.
Earlier on Tuesday, President Trump met Russian FM Sergei Lavrov in Washington, two years after the US leader was accused of leaking classified information to him.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time with Ukraine’s young new leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a summit in Paris that also involved France and Germany.
Lavrov’s visit comes as a cloud still hangs over Trump over his relationship with Russia, which US intelligence concluded interfered in the 2016 election.
Trump is facing impeachment over accusations that he improperly held up US aid to Ukraine to press Zelensky to dig up dirt on his domestic rival Joe Biden.
Trump has also urged an investigation into a theory — firmly dismissed by US intelligence — that Ukraine rather than Russia interfered in the 2016 vote.
After a May 2017 meeting at the Oval Office, Trump allegedly revealed highly classified details about the threat from the Islamic State group with Lavrov and Russia’s then-ambassador in Washington, Sergey Kislyak.