WASHINGTON // US president Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Russia to rein in Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and his key ally Iran, as Washington and Moscow sought to boost their fragile ties with high-profile White House talks.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Washington since Mr Trump came to power in January, earned a rare invitation to the Oval Office for a head-to-head with the Republican president.
Before visiting the White House, Mr Lavrov met with US secretary of state Rex Tillerson to discuss the crises in Syria and Ukraine - talks qualified by the Russian foreign minister as "constructive".
The meetings were partly overshadowed by the uproar in Washington over Mr Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey, the man who was leading an investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election.
"We had a very, very good meeting" Mr Trump said shortly after meeting the Russian foreign minister. "We're going to stop the killing and the death [in Syria]."
The US president nevertheless told Mr Lavrov that Moscow should "rein in the Assad regime, Iran and Iranian proxies", the White House said.
Mr Lavrov, who came to Washington seeking US support for a Russian plan to create safe zones in Syria, said "concrete mechanisms that we can manage together" were discussed.
"Today, we have a common understanding that, as active players in the diplomatic process regarding Syria, we are going to pursue these contacts together and with other key countries, especially those in the region," he said.
Mr Trump's critics cried foul over the White House invitation to Mr Lavrov, whose government stands accused by US intelligence agencies of interfering in the November election, which the president won over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Democrats have seen Mr Comey's shock dismissal as an assault on an investigation that could have sweeping repercussions for Mr Trump's administration.
Mr Lavrov, who last set foot in Washington in August 2013, dismissed all claims of election meddling as "fabrications", preferring in his press conference to focus on the substance of his meetings.
"President Trump clearly confirmed his interest in building mutually beneficial, business-like pragmatic relations," he said.
Earlier in the day, when Mr Lavrov arrived at the state department to meet Mr Tillerson, he cracked a joke about Mr Comey's firing, answering shouted questions from reporters by saying: "Was he fired? ... You're kidding, you're kidding!"
In Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin met with his security council on Wednesday to discuss US-Russian relations in the context of Mr Lavrov's meeting with Mr Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Ria Novosti news agency.
In an interview with CBS News, Mr Putin said the firing of Mr Comey would not impact relations between the two nations.
"There will be no effect," he said. "Your question looks very funny for me. Don't be angry with me. We have nothing to do with that."
Relations between the two former Cold War foes soured under former US president Barack Obama over Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its unyielding support for Mr Al Assad.
Neither Washington, which backs the Syrian opposition, nor Moscow, a longtime ally of the regime, have managed to find a solution to the conflict.
Since the end of Mr Obama's presidency in January, the United States has gradually withdrawn from the diplomatic process, leaving Russia to take the lead.
The US was not part of a deal by Damascus backers Russia and Iran, and rebel supporter Turkey, that was signed on Thursday in the Kazakh capital on establishing safe zones in Syria.
The agreement calls for the creation of four "de-escalation zones" to shore up a ceasefire, ban flights and allow for humanitarian aid deliveries.
Washington has given the deal a sceptical welcome, citing concerns about Tehran's role as a guarantor even as it expressed hope the agreement could set the stage for a later settlement.
"We will look at the proposal, see if it can work," Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said on Monday.
Over the past six years, Moscow and Washington have sparred multiple times over the conflict in Syria, especially concerning Mr Al Assad's fate.
Mr Trump's arrival to power has not brought the two sides closer - and in early April, the US even launched direct military action against the Syrian regime in retaliation for an apparent chemical attack.
* Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting by Reuters
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