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Tillerson to Visit Moscow Next Week | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. © Joshua Roberts / Reuters


Moscow – US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Moscow on April 11-12 for talks with Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

“On April 11-12, US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, will arrive in Moscow on a working trip. It’s his first visit to our country as the head of the foreign policy department in the [US President] Donald Trump administration,” the ministry said in statement.

The US State Department has confirmed Tillerson’s Moscow trip, saying that the issues of bilateral relations, Syria, Ukraine, North Korea and the fight against terrorism will be discussed in the Russian capital.

US Department of State Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner said that Tillerson will travel to Moscow, Russia, on April 12, where he will meet with Lavrov and other Russian officials to discuss Ukraine, counterterrorism efforts, bilateral relations and other issues, including the DPRK and Syria.

“This trip is part of our effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure US views are clearly conveyed, including on next steps in Minsk implementation,” Toner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, UN Security Council ambassadors will travel to Washington on April 24 to meet with US Trump and US lawmakers, a senior diplomat told AFP on Wednesday.

The meetings are likely to focus on Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed US cuts to UN funding, said the diplomat who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

During his election campaign, Trump dismissed the United Nations as “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.”