Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and Pentagon Chief Mark Esper, both of whom are currently visiting Mongolia, may hold a meeting to discuss the situation in North Korea and the entire Asia-Pacific region following the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Chairman of the Board of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s Development and Support Foundation Andrei Bystritsky told.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

"We can’t rule it [a meeting between the two officials] out, I think they have things to discuss. First of all, there are issues related to intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles and the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the North Korea issue that concerns everyone," the expert said.

According to Bystritsky, the fact that senior military officials from Russia and the US are making visits to Mongolia at the same time "may seem a mere coincidence but in fact it is not, because building a new system of relations in the region is important for everyone."

The Pentagon earlier declined to answer a TASS question about the possibility of a meeting between the two countries’ delegations in Mongolia.