MOSCOW (AP) – U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of their talks in Russia that he hopes that the U.S. and Russia can mend their relations and find areas of mutual cooperation. Pompeo said in televised remarks at the meeting venue in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that he has come to Russia because President Donald Trump is “committed to improve this relationship.” He said that each country wants to protect its interests but that there are areas for mutually beneficial cooperation, including the fight against terrorism. Pompeo said that an improved relationship, damaged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and U.S. sanctions against Russia, “will be good not only for our two countries but for the whole world as well.”