Tillerson on Russia: ‘We should find places we can work together’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday he thinks the U.S. and Russia should focus on areas in which the two countries can come together.

“We should find places we can work together,” Tillerson told reporters, according to Reuters.

“In places we have differences, we’re going to have to continue to find ways to address those.”

{mosads}Tillerson met over the weekend with Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, on the sidelines of an international gathering in Manila.

“The fact that we want to work with them on areas that are of serious national security interest to us, and at the same time having this extraordinary issue of mistrust that divides us, that is just what we in the diplomatic part of our relationship are required to do,” Tillerson said.

President Trump last week signed legislation the imposes new sanctions on Russia.

The bill — which was approved by Congress overwhelmingly — also limits the president’s ability to lift sanctions on Russia or return diplomatic compounds seized by the Obama administration in retaliation for Russian election meddling.