SOCHI: Russia and the United States voiced hope Tuesday for better ties including working together in Syria as President Vladimir Putin welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but tensions were laid bare in a clash over election meddling. The United States and Russia are on opposite sides of Syria’s brutal eight-year civil war, with Russia the primary backer of President Bashar al-Assad. “Despite the exotic nature of Mr Mueller’s commission, on the whole he conducted quite an objective investigation and confirmed the absence of any collusion between the US administration and Russia,” Putin said. Pompeo, speaking earlier at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, acknowledged deep differences on election meddling and warned Russia to stay out of next year’s vote. Lavrov mockingly said that the United States had also promoted democracy in war-torn Iraq and Libya and called for dialogue with Maduro — an option rejected by Washington

Source: Libya Today May 15, 2019 04:07 UTC