Pompeo in Sochi buried hopes for a “deal” between the USA and Russia

On Tuesday, May 14, in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Earlier, Pompeo canceled the planned Moscow part of his visit, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

This is Pompeo's first visit to Russia as US Secretary of State. It comes amid increasing tensions between the two countries.

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Following the conversation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the parties discussed in detail the situation in Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as Iran’s nuclear program. The Russian minister called the negotiations “useful, rich and meaningful.” According to him, the Russian Federation and the United States agree on the need to restore bilateral channels of communication. Lavrov thanked Pompeo for the dialogue. According to him, “President Trump is doing everything to improve relations between our countries.”

“I think it’s time to start building a new, more responsible constructive matrix of mutual perception of each other. We are ready for this, of course, if our American partners show reciprocal interest,” Lavrov said.

According to Pompeo, the purpose of his visit was “to bring Vladimir Putin a message from Donald Trump.” “I am here today because President Trump is committed to improving relations (with Russia),” Pompeo said.

At the same time, the positions voiced by Pompeo on specific issues of interest to the Russian Federation allow us to assert that the US position has not changed, and in some ways has even become tougher. In particular, the Secretary of State categorically opposed any interference in the affairs of Venezuela.

“We want no country to interfere in the affairs of Venezuela, we want the Venezuelan people to get their democracy, for the people of Venezuela to choose their leader - whether it be Mr. Maduro or someone else,” Pompeo said at a press conference . At the same time, the Secretary of State did not question Washington’s current attempts to influence Caracas.

Also, the position of the White House on the Ukrainian issue remained essentially unchanged. Pompeo called on Moscow to “find a common language with Ukraine and immediately release the Ukrainian sailors” detained during the incident in the Kerch Strait.

“We want Russia to extend its hand to the new Ukrainian government so that a way out of the situation can be found. We also call on the Russian government to release representatives of the crew who were captured in the Kerch Strait,” Pompeo said at a press conference following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

According to Pompeo, the US position regarding the status of Crimea remains unchanged. Washington does not recognize him as Russian.

in 2014, Russia "sought to undermine the foundations of the international principle shared by democratic states: no country can change the borders of another by using force." “States around the world, including Russia, have agreed to this principle as expressed in the UN Charter, promising to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,” the head of the State Department said.

In fact, contrary to the optimistic statements of officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry and a number of Russian politicians who expected the opening of a new “window of opportunity” for concluding a “grand deal” between the United States and the Russian Federation, such a turn of events seems impossible.