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Amid Trump Impeachment Fury, US and Russia Expected to Talk Arms Control

Charles Maynes

   MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov heads to Washington for
   hastily scheduled meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
   and, possibly, President Donald Trump, on Tuesday.

   While a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said the mission's purpose
   would be to discuss "important issues" in U.S.-Russian relations, White
   House officials are signaling arms control will top the agenda, along
   with discussions aimed at bridging differences between Washington and
   Moscow over Syria and Ukraine.

   The idea for the talks appears to have been jumpstarted by Russian
   President Vladimir Putin last week, when the Russian leader said Moscow
   was eager to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty by the
   end of this year "without any preconditions."

   "Russia is not interested in starting an arms race and deploying
   missiles where they are not present now," said Putin in an addressing
   the nuclear treaty -- which expires in 2021 -- during a meeting with
   officials in Moscow.

   Washington seems to have gotten the message.

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