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Can Putin, Trump reboot ties over Syria?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to Moscow with a message of reconciliation from President Donald Trump that the Kremlin happily embraced, yet the old disagreements are all still there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia May 14, 2019. Alexander Nemenov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1DB8C7B000

MOSCOW — US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo came to Sochi Tuesday for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, and President Vladimir Putin also hosted Pompeo for a short discussion of the most acute issues over which Moscow and Washington are currently sparring. A week prior, on May 6, Lavrov and Pompeo met in Helsinki on the sidelines of the Arctic Council.

“We understand that much suspicion and prejudice has piled up on both sides, but neither you nor we are benefitting from it. On the contrary, mutual bitterness increases the risks to your security and ours, and is of concern to the entire international community,” Lavrov stated in his opening remarks.

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