Vladimir Putin & Donald Trump in Helsinki, 16 July 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Sochi, after first visiting American business leaders at the U.S. embassy in Moscow; the trip will last from 12-14 May.
“On May 13, he will arrive in Russia to meet with his team at U.S. Embassy Moscow before meeting with UUS business leaders and UUS exchange alumni. Secretary Pompeo will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” the statement reads, reported Russian state news agency TASS.
“Secretary Pompeo will travel to Sochi, Russia on May 14 to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin to discuss the full range of bilateral and multilateral challenges,” the US Department of State added.
As the violence and civil unrest flares in Venezuela, analysts suggest the Sochi meeting could be the site of a grand bargain to preserve America’s Monroe Doctrine in the Western hemisphere as well as give Russsia influence over its ‘near abroad’ such as in Ukraine, which has been mired in a simmering war which has killed well over 10,000 people since 2014.
