POMPEO: ‘OUR AIM IS NOT WAR’: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives this morning in Sochi, Russia, for talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin. The meetings are supposed to cover a wide range of issues, including new arms control agreements and the U.S.-backed effort to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

But with the dispatch of U.S. warships and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf, the Russians are anxious to hear what America plans to do to deescalate tensions with Tehran, with Lavrov saying he looks forward to a “sincere conversation” with his American counterpart.