The US did not specify exactly what would constitute proof that Russia would not intervene in the elections or what exact action was to be taken.
Pompeo warned: “I made clear to Foreign Minister Lavrov … that interference in American elections is unacceptable. If the Russians were engaged in that in 2020, it would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been. I’d encourage them not to do that. We would not tolerate that.”
Lavrov did fire back at Pompeo demanding that the US should not be demanding that Maduro in Venezuela should resign but that it should be left to the Venezuelan people to decide. The US meddling Lavrov called undemocratic. The US insists that it is trying to restore democracy in Venezuela. Lavrov denied that Russia had interfered in the US election.
Another US demand
Pompeo also demanded that Russia unconditionally release the Ukrainian sailors that had been arrested last year for violating Russian waters in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and the Crimea. Pompeo said that Russia must also work with the new president of the Ukraine to make peace with the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov hopes for better US Russian relations
Lavrov said: “I’ve formed the impression that your president wants to repair Russia-U.S. ties and contacts and wants to solve issues which are of common interest for us. We’ve said many times that we also want to fully restore our relations. I hope that the necessary conditions for that to happen will now be created.”
Both Lavrov and Pompeo claimed they desired to improve relations between the two countries. However neither would confirm a Trump suggestion that he would meet Putin on the sidelines of a G20 meeting to be held in Japan next month. However, a Kremlin aide said that Putin would meet with Trump if formally requested to do so.
Although both men said that the two sides continued to disagree on many issues, Pompeo said that Trump had made it clear that he expected improved relationships between the two countries that would benefit each side. He said the talks with Lavrov were a step in that direction.
