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| US State Secretary Rex Tillerson gives an opening statement during the Asean-US Ministerial meeting of the 50th Asean ARF in Manila |
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday he believes Washington and Russia can find a way to ease tension, saying it wouldnโt be useful to cut ties over the single issue of suspected Russian meddling in the US election.
Tillerson said Russia had also expressed some willingness to resume talks about the crisis in Ukraine, where a 2015 ceasefire between Kievโs forces and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country is regularly violated.
โWe should find places we can work togetherโฆ In places we have differences weโre going to have to continue to find ways to address those,โ Tillerson told reporters.
Tillerson met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of an international gathering in Manila on Sunday, where he also asked about Moscowโs retaliation to new US sanctions against Russia.
The meeting was their first since President Donald Trump reluctantly signed into law the sanctions that Russia said amounted to a full-scale trade war and ended hopes for better ties.
Lavrov on Sunday said he believed his US colleagues were ready to continue dialogue with Moscow on complex issues despite tensions.
Tillerson said he discussed Russiaโs suspected meddling in the 2016 US presidential election with Lavrov to โhelp them understand how serious this incident had been and how seriously it damaged the relationshipโ between the two nations.
But Tillerson said that should not irreversibly damage ties.
โThe fact that we want to work with them on areas that are of serious national security interest to us, and at the same time having this extraordinary issue of mistrust that divides us, that is just what we in the diplomatic part of our relationship are required to do,โ Tillerson said.
The United States sent its special representative on Ukraine, Kurt Volker, a former US envoy to Nato, to Ukraine last month to assess the situation in the former Soviet republic.
Washington cites the conflict as a key obstacle to improved relations between Russia and the United States.
โWe appointed a special envoy to engage with Russia but also coordinating with all parties. This is full visibility to all parties. We are not trying to cut some kind of deal on the side,โ Tillerson said.
