The Russian Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke by phone on May 12, and agreed to meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 20, on the sidelines of the Arctic Council meeting both will attend. “The sides discussed the timeline of other Russian-U.S. contacts for the upcoming period, including Washington’s proposal on the organization of the Russia-U.S. summit,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in its statement. They also “exchanged opinions on approaches to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and reviewing tasks on strategic stability,” the statement read.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters yesterday that Moscow is carefully examining the U.S. proposals on a summit between the Russian and American Presidents, Sputnik reported, adding that Ryabkov stated that Moscow is always open to dialogue and believes that such a meeting is crucial both politically and diplomatically.