Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoOvernight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Overnight Defense: House Democrats unveil stopgap spending measure to GOP opposition | Bill includes .6B for new subs | Trump issues Iran sanctions after world shrugs at US action at UN Navalny calls on Russia to return clothes he was wearing when he fell ill MORE told his Russian counterpart on Wednesday that Moscow would need to cease its interference in "U.S. domestic matters" if it hopes to thaw tensions with Washington.

In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — Pompeo's first since he was sworn in as the nation's top diplomat last month — the secretary of State said that the U.S. wants to improve relations with Moscow.

But he added that "achieving that will require Russia to demonstrate that it is prepared to take concrete actions to address our concerns, including interfering in U.S. domestic matters," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

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The phone call also touched on Russia's involvement in Syria and Ukraine. The U.S. has repeatedly condemned Moscow's intervention in eastern Ukraine, as well as its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Pompeo's discussion with Lavrov came a day after Nikki Haley Nimrata (Nikki) Haley'The soul' versus 'law and order' Author Ryan Girdusky: RNC worked best when highlighting 'regular people' as opposed to 'standard Republicans' GOP lobbyists pleasantly surprised by Republican convention MORE, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.), blasted Russia's "outrageous actions" in Ukraine, and called for Moscow to return control of Crimea to Kiev.

"Until Russia ends its outrageous actions in Ukraine, the position of the United States will not waver. We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russia’s involvement in eastern Ukraine and its purported annexation of Crimea," she said at a U.N. Security Council meeting.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, Pompeo affirmed the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia sought to sway the 2016 U.S. election in favor of President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE. He denied that Russian interference had an impact on the result.