File Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses a press conference after NATO foreign ministers' meeting at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the issue of Venezuela in Finland, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.
The two had a meeting on Monday during the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, which was held in Rovaniemi, Finland.
Pompeo told the traveling press that his meeting with Lavrov covered a wide range of issues, calling it "a good conversation," according to a press release issued by the State Department.
Pompeo revealed that he made clear to Lavrov that Venezuelans should not have "any foreign party running their country or involved in their country on a consistent basis in a military way."
"We want the Cubans out ... Russia's military out," Pompeo said, adding Washington and Moscow would have further conversations.
File Photo: Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reacts at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (not in the picture) in Belgrade, Serbia, on Feb. 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Predrag Milosavljevic)
For his part, Lavrov said that Moscow opposed a military solution to the Venezuelan crisis.
"We are categorically against a military action in violation of international law anywhere. The use of force can only be authorized by the UN Security Council, or it can be used in response to aggression against a sovereign state," Lavrov was quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry press release as telling reporters after his meeting with Pompeo.
The United States and Russia have been at odds over Venezuela.
Washington repeatedly urged Moscow to cease its support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro while Russia stressed that Washington's interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and threat against its leadership is a gross violation of international law.
