U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew into the city of Sochi on Russia's Black Sea Tuesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
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But the trip comes the Kremlin and the White House have signaled they want to improve relations, and just as President Donald Trump said he will meet with Putin at a G20 summit in Japan next month.
Pompeo first met with Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Sochi. Both men struck an upbeat tone speaking in front of cameras at the start of their talks.
Pompeo told Lavrov the Trump administration is "committed to improving this relationship" and that the two countries were "not destined to be adversaries on every issue."
"We understand that on both sides more than a little suspicion and prejudice has built up. But neither you, nor us gains anything from this," Lavrov told Pompeo.
The trip was confirmed after Pompeo met with Lavrov last week in Finland's capital Helsinki and the U.S. officials have said they hope Pompeo and Putin will address a broad range of issues, from Venezuela, Iran and Ukraine, to the arms control and efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
Russian officials have indicated they hope there may now be an opening to improve relations with the end of the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Putin and Trump spoke at length on the phone on May 3, in a conversation both sides described as very positive. Trump said the two discussed what he called the "Russian hoax."