Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday he believes Washington is ready for further dialogue with Moscow.

The Kremlin official and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonGary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November Kushner says 'Alice in Wonderland' describes Trump presidency: Woodward book Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE had their first bilateral meeting following the Russia sanctions bill that President Trump recently signed into law.

Lavrov said while the two talked at length about a variety of issues, the secretary first sought to extract details about the Russian response to the recent U.S. sanctions bill, Reuters reported.

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"He was primarily interested ... in details of those decisions that we grudgingly made in response to the law on anti-Russian sanctions," Lavrov reportedly said after meeting with the secretary outside of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Manila.

"We provided an explanation," Lavrov added.

Trump reluctantly signed bipartisan legislation into law Wednesday that adds new sanctions against Russia while also limiting the president's ability to lessen sanctions against the Kremlin.

The law comes in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine and Moscow's interference in the 2016 election.

Russia called the measure a "fully fledged trade war," and issued its own retaliatory response, including ousting over 750 U.S. diplomatic officials by the first of September and planning to take over diplomatic property previously used by the U.S.

Trump has also lashed out at Congress for the measure, which was approved by wide margins in both chambers. He also blamed Congress for fostering a tense relationship with Moscow.

“By limiting the executive’s flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together,” Trump said Wednesday.

“Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us [healthcare]!” he tweeted a day later.