Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held a telephone talk with his US counterpart Michael Pompeo on Friday, pointing out that Moscow strictly rejected new US sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Axar.az informs citing TASS.

"Russia stated that it strictly rejected new sanctions Washington unveiled recently, citing Moscow’s alleged involvement in the so-called Skripal case," the statement reads.

Sergey Lavrov and Michael Pompeo have also agreed to continue dialogue on all issues of mutual interest for Moscow and Washington.

"The two top diplomats agreed to maintain contacts on all issues of mutual interest," the ministry said.

"The sides discussed a number of issues of the international agenda, including the situation in Syria, and other topics that were in focus of a meeting between the Russia and US presidents on July 16 in Helsinki," the ministry said, adding that the conversation was initiated by the US side.

Russian and US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, held their first full-format talks in the Finnish capital city Helsinki on July 16. Before that, they had met only on the sidelines of international events. In Helsinki, the two leaders discussed bilateral and international problems. After the talks, they described them as a big step forward.