Trump to meet Russian foreign minister Lavrov on Wednesday: senior U.S. official

Reuters
FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attending a news conference in Moscow, Russia, November 18, 2015, and U.S. President Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/Lucas Jackson/File Photos

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House on Wednesday to discuss Syria and a wide range of international issues, a senior U.S. official said. It will be the highest-level contact between Trump and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin since Trump took office on Jan. 20. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on the agenda would be Syria as well as U.S.-Russian relations and other global issues. Relations deteriorated between the United States and Russia after U.S. air strikes against a Syrian airfield in response to a chemical weapons attack that Washington blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)