Washington, The US State Department has said Thursday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov will talk in Finland over issues like Venezuela and Ukraine.
In a teleconference to brief the media on Pompeo’s upcoming trip to Europe, which will take him to Rovaniemi of Finland on May 6 to attend the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, a senior State Department official said on Thursday that Lavrov will also be in Finland to attend the meeting then, Xinhua reported.
“I do understand that he will be there. I would expect that the secretary and he will have an opportunity, obviously, to talk,” the official said. “I think Venezuela… would be part of that discussion.”
“When they have a chance to get together they can review a whole range of issues, including our concerns about the Russian behaviour. That includes Ukraine and certainly Venezuela,” the official said, refusing to give further details about the upcoming meeting.
The US has been at variance with Russia over stances on Venezuela. Pompeo on Wednesday called Lavrov to discuss the Venezuela issue, and urged Moscow to cease its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
However, the Russian media on the same day quoted a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that in the call with Pompeo, Lavrov warned of the “gravest consequences” of “aggressive steps” against Caracas.
