Mike Pence's comments came less than an hour before news broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had, as a senator, met multiple times with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. | Getty Pence: I have no plans to meet with Putin

Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday night that he has no plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin but that the White House will continue to seek areas of cooperation with Russia.

Appearing on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” Pence said there are “no plans on my part” to meet with Putin. He was responding to a suggestion by host Bill O’Reilly that he do so. Pence added that the White House’s posture toward Russia had not changed.


“We made a strong commitment to NATO. We also made it very clear that two things are true: We’re going to hold Russia accountable for ending violence in eastern Ukraine,” Pence said. “But in the same breath, our president continues to believe that if there is a way that we can find common ground with Russia, particularly in the fight against ISIS, he’s determined to pursue that.”

Pence's comments came less than an hour before news broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had, as a senator, met multiple times with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in the months before the 2016 election, meetings that he did not disclose under oath during confirmation hearings to take control of the Justice Department.

News of Sessions’ previously unknown meetings with the Russian ambassador has further inflamed allegations that President Donald Trump’s campaign was in regular contact with the Kremlin, which actively sought to aid his candidacy by hacking into and then leaking the personal emails of prominent Democrats.