Lavrov meets with Tillerson in Washington

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday to the State Department for a meeting ahead of the Russian diplomat's visit to the White House.

President Donald Trump's meeting with Lavrov later in the day will be the highest-level contact between Washington and Moscow since the US leader's inauguration on January 20, Efe news reported.

Lavrov's meeting at the White House comes a day after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

"Was he fired? You are kidding, you are kidding," Lavrov said in response to a question from a reporter about Comey's dismissal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that Russia hoped that the FBI director's firing would not affect bilateral relations.

The White House has not provided details on the agenda for the Trump-Lavrov meeting, but the US leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone conversation last week that Syria would be a priority in the Washington-Moscow dialogue.

Tillerson and Lavrov, according to the State Department, plan to discuss the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

Lavrov stopped in Washington on his way to Alaska, where he and Tillerson are scheduled to participate in the 10th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting, a two-day gathering that starts on Wednesday.

--IANS

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