Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shake hands at the conclusion of a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week that he had felt a more constructive approach from Washington when it came to the U.S.-Russia strategic dialogue.
The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday in an encounter that neither side has so far spoken about in detail.
“I felt certain small moves toward a more constructive approach by our American partners,” Lavrov said on his ministry’s website on Monday.
Lavrov said the two men had spoken about issues related to strategic dialogue between Russia and the United States and about arms control.
The last remaining major arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington, the New START accord, expires next year. Russia has said it is ready to extend it, but U.S. officials have called it flawed and outdated.
The treaty is the last major nuclear arms control treaty between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers and limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads they can deploy.
(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
