Lavrov: Tillerson's visit offers opportunity to clarify positions of Russia and US

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Moscow is very timely, adding it offers an opportunity to clarify the chances of cooperation between the two sides.

Moscow believes it is important that the steps such as the US missile strike on Syria must not repeat, Lavrov said. "Russia’s leadership has already voiced its principal assessments in this respect. We believe it is of principal importance to prevent risks of a repeat of such steps in the future," the minister pointed out.

Moscow wants to understand real intentions of the American administration, Lavrov said.

"It’s very important for us to understand the US position and real intentions of your administration. I hope to achieve progress on this path today," the minister added.

"We are always in favor of collective steps. We do not consider any closed alliances and misalliances productive," he noted.

"We had a lot of questions regarding a lot of very ambiguous as well as contradictory ideas on a whole plethora of bilateral and international agenda coming from Washington," Lavrov said.