WASHINGTON DC. March 7 (Interfax) - Moscow sent a request for arranging a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Ethiopia on March 2, the Russian embassy in Washington DC said in comment on the statement by the U.S. Department of State's spokesperson that the United States did not receive the request.
"We usually do not comment on preparation details of diplomatic meetings. But, as U.S. Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert again has distorted the reality, we are forced to state that the request for a meeting between Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson was sent to the State Department on March 2," the embassy said in a statement seen by Interfax.
"Several times we tried to get a proper answer. So far, alas, unsuccessfully," it said.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert told a press briefing on Tuesday that Washington had not received Russia's request for organizing a meeting between Lavrov and Tillerson in Ethiopia earlier this week.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the press in Moscow on March 5 about the request made by Moscow.