US ‘not successful’ at reaching desired relations with Russia so far, says Pompeo

The United States have not managed to reach desired relations with Russia so far, because Washington still has to combat Moscow’s "malign activity", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated in an interview with the NBC channel, quotes from which were published on Saturday.

"[We are trying to] push back against Russia's malign activity around the world," Pompeo stated. "The president's [US President Donald Trump] tried to develop a relationship and change that, but we've not been successful, at least to date," he added. In particular, Russia does not support the US on the issue of regulating the conflict in Ukraine, Pompeo noted.

"There's a handful of other places in the world where we do have overlapping interests, although certainly not values," Pompeo continued. He said that during his tenure as CIA director, he used to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin on counterterrorism issues.

The FBI and the intelligence committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives are currently investigating into the alleged Russia’s meddling in the US election. In mid-May, the US Department of Justice declared appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special prosecutor in a new independent probe. US President Donald Trump and his key supporters refuted many times suspicions of any collusion with Russian officials during last year’s election campaign. Moscow also denied allegations of its attempts to influence the US election.