US, Russian FMs discuss Helsinki meeting fruits, ties over phone

WASHINGTON -- US Department of State said on Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had earlier spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov over phone to discuss the meeting fruits and issues over bilateral and regional concerns.

According to a statement issued by State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert, the phone conversation took place on Saturday when the two foreign ministers discussed a broad range of issues, "some of which were following up from the meeting between President Trump and President Putin" in Finland on July 16.

Among the topics discussed was the situation in Syria.

The two also discussed how to implement ideas on counterterrorism process coordination and the mutual goal of establishing business-to-business dialogue between private, non-governmentally controlled entities in the two countries, another deliverable of the Trump-Putin meeting.

Pompeo and Lavrov also discussed "the need for Russia to provide equal diplomatic access to the United States, at a level that is fair and reciprocal."

US White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said Thursday that Putin will be invited to Washington in the autumn, and "those discussions are already underway."

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Friday in response that that his country is open to a new meeting between the two presidents.

Trump has been widely attacked after his meeting with Putin on July 16, due to his reconciliatory remarks that many saw as a sign to side with Moscow against US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 US elections.