US, Russia acknowledge ‘serious differences’ but stress dialogue

Top diplomats Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov strike optimistic note at first face-to-face meeting since Joe Biden became US president.

The United States and Russia’s top diplomats have held their first in-person talks acknowledging that while the former Cold War foes have serious differences over how they view world affairs they can still find ways to work together on issues of mutual interest. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his first meeting on Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a veteran diplomat, said it was “no secret that we have our differences”, but that the world would be safer if the two countries’ leaders worked together. Lavrov praised the talks as “constructive” and “useful”, saying both sides understood the need to mend ties.