Lavrov to discuss Venezuela, Iran and Syria with Pompeo on May 14

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold full-format talks with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Tuesday. This will be the second meeting between the top diplomats this month and Pompeo's first visit to Russia in the capacity of the US Secretary of State.

Russian-US contacts have been activated lately. On May 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a 90-minute telephone conversation at Washington's initiative. On May 6, Lavrov met with Pompeo on the sidelines of the Arctic Council meeting in Finland's Rovaniemi. The Russian foreign minister said that the sides made a good step forward.

In Sochi, the US secretary of state will also meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the talks, Lavrov and Pompeo will discuss the Iranian nuclear deal, the situation in Venezuela, the Syrian conflict, as well as the prospects of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).