White House national security adviser John Bolton, who began his tenure in the Trump administration earlier this month, met with Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov on Thursday, and the two discussed Syria and Russian meddling in the 2016 election, among other international issues, according to the White House.
“Ambassador Bolton reiterated that it is in the interest of both the United States and Russia to have better relations, but that this will require addressing our concerns regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, the reckless use of a chemical weapon in the United Kingdom, and the situations in Ukraine and Syria,” the White House said in a statement.
The meeting follows a string of international events in which the U.S. and Russia have been at odds.
The U.S. launched a joint military strike with Western allies against Syria last week in response to what the U.S. believes was a regime-orchestrated chemical weapon attack that killed civilians earlier this month. The U.S. has condemned Russia for supporting Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strike an “act of aggression” and Antonov warned that there would be “consequences.”
The two sides have clashed at the U.N., with the Security Council rejecting a Russian condemnation of the Syria strike. Russia has vetoed resolutions that would establish an investigative mechanism to investigate reports of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Prior to the Syria incident, the Trump administration announced that 60 Russian officials would be expelled from the U.S. in response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter last month in the United Kingdom. This prompted Russia to retaliate by sending 60 U.S. officials in Russia packing.
Russia has denied being behind the attack on the former spy and his daughter, instead suggesting that the U.K. was responsible. Furthermore, Putin said the accusations were a result of “delirium.”
All the while, special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. In February, it was revealed that 13 Russian nationals were indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Additionally, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and five were charged with aggravated identity theft.
