Mike Pompeo to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to visit Russia for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week, Moscow said Tuesday, a day after the two met in Finland. The meeting will take place in the southern Russian city of Sochi on May 14, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to AFP.

The Kremlin said it was not ruling out a meeting between Pompeo and President Vladimir Putin, but spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not offer any further details. Pompeo's visit follows talks on Monday between Lavrov and the Secretary of State on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting in northern Finland.

Pompeo at the weekend slammed Russia for "aggressive behaviour" in the Arctic and also said that "Russians must get out" of crisis-wracked Venezuela. Lavrov, speaking after Monday's talks, refused to comment on "political statements that are made publicly to create a certain effect."

"We concentrated on real business," he said, calling the discussion "very good and constructive." The US Secretary of State was due to travel on to Berlin from Finland but abruptly cancelled the visit due to "pressing issues", his spokeswoman said.

(With inputs from agencies.)