Russian FM warned on election meddling but invited by Trump

President Donald Trump warned Moscow against meddling in next year's election, the White House said Tuesday, but Russia's foreign minister denied the issue came up in a Washington meeting that drew controversy for occurring at all.

On the very day that House Democrats unveiled impeachment charges against Trump related to election interference, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Trump behind closed doors at the White House after saying he sought more cooperation.

The White House in a statement said that Trump "warned against any Russian attempts to interfere in United States elections and urged Russia to resolve the conflict with Ukraine."
Speaking to reporters moments afterward, Lavrov said he had not seen the White House account but said: "We haven't even actually discussed elections."
Lavrov, holding a news conference earlier with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, seized on the idea of a Ukrainian plot, saying it showed "the absurdity of the accusations against us."
"Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response."
"The ball is in our American partners' court," Lavrov said. Negotiated under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, New Start, which expires in