04 July 2018•Update: 04 July 2018
By Safvan Allahverdi
WASHINGTON
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed an upcoming summit between their presidents in a phone call Tuesday, according to the State Department.
The White House announced last week that President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet on July 16 in the Finnish capital Helsinki for the much-anticipated summit, adding the two leaders will discuss bilateral relations as well as national security issues.
During their phone call, Pompeo and Lavrov also discussed issues related to Syria and North Korea, said the State Department.
A group of Republican members of Congress are also in Moscow for a rare visit to hold talks with Russian lawmakers ahead of the Trump-Putin summit.
