US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today suggested a 'co-operation deal' with Putin when he met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Former Exxon Mobil chief executive Tillerson has said that Washington would cooperate with Moscow - but only if it is in US interests to do so.

'The United States will consider working with Russia when we can find areas of practical cooperation that will benefit the American people,' Tillerson said in a statement after his first meeting as secretary of state with Lavrov.

The meeting marked the highest-level face-to-face contact between the two countries since Trump took office.

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Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, lefy, shakes hands with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during their talks on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting

When asked if Russia was concerned about turmoil in the Trump administration, Lavrov refused to be drawn, repeating Moscow's standard line that Russia 'does not interfere in the domestic matters of other countries.'

Tillerson did not speak at the meeting on the sidelines of a conference of G20 foreign ministers in Bonn, Germany.

However, speaking to reporters after the summit he urged Russia to meet its Minsk ceasefire commitments in Ukraine, where Russian intervention and its annexation of Crimea have plunged Western ties with Moscow into a deep freeze.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, has put a 'co-operation deal' with Putin on the table when he met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, right

'As we search for new common ground we expect Russia to honour its commitment to the Minsk agreements and work to de-escalate violence in Ukraine,' Tillerson told reporters after meeting Lavrov.

Speaking after their meeting, Lavrov said he agreed with his new US counterpart that Moscow and Washington should 'move ahead' in areas where they have shared interests.

'Obviously we cannot solve all problems... but we have a mutual understanding that where our interests coincide, and there are many such spheres, we must move ahead,' Lavrov said in televised comments.

He said Tillerson reiterated the 'readiness' of the US to 'overcome' the period of strained bilateral ties 'while recognising that... we will never work through all disagreements in one go.'

Rex Tillerson, left, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, were at a conference of foreign ministers of Group of 20 major powers in Bonn, Germany

Tillerson has taken a low-key and reserved approach in his first two weeks on the job and declined the opportunity to speak with reporters travelling with him aboard his plane to Germany.

He did not respond to reporters' questions at his first three meetings in Bonn and, until Thursday, had yet to comment publicly on developments with Russia, its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election or its actions in Syria and Ukraine.

Trump chose Tillerson for the job in part because of his business experience and relationship with Russia while he was at Exxon.

His meeting with Mr Lavrov was seen as a first test of whether that business acumen - which led to great profits for the oil company and Russian President Vladimir Putin bestowing a friendship award upon him - can translate into success in a high-stakes diplomatic arena.

At his confirmation hearing last month, Mr Tillerson voiced conventional concerns about Russia's behavior and said they should be addressed by projecting a forceful and united front.

The meeting between the two men marked the highest-level face-to-face contact between the two countries since Trump took office

Like others in the administration, he has not been specific about how to repair damaged ties or whether doing so might involve lifting US sanctions imposed on Russia after its annexation of the Crimea region.

Despite Tillerson's remarks on possible co-operation, the US is not ready to collaborate militarily with Russia, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said, appearing to close the door for now on any effort to work more closely with Moscow in the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria.

His blunt rejection came after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for increased intelligence cooperation with the US and NATO, and it makes such coordination less likely at least in the near future.

Mattis followed his dismissal with a sharp assessment of Russia's alleged election meddling, saying there is 'very little doubt that they have either interfered or they have attempted to interfere in a number of elections in the democracies.'

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, right, said the U.S. is not ready to collaborate militarily with Russia despite Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, calling for increased intelligence cooperation with the U.S. and NATO

His comments raised questions about the Trump administration's policies on Russia. As a candidate, President Donald Trump repeatedly praised Putin, saying he wanted a new era of cooperation with Moscow.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Mattis said the US will continue to engage politically with Putin's government to try to find common ground.

Political leaders, Mattis said, will seek 'a way forward where Russia, living up to its commitments, will return to a partnership of sorts here with NATO. But Russia is going to have to prove itself first.'

The US ceased military relations with Russia in the wake of Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. But last year, the Obama administration considered plans to cooperate militarily with Russia as part of a cease-fire deal in Syria.

Senior Defense Department leaders opposed the plan, and it quickly fell apart as the cease fire collapsed.

US General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was set to meet with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

It was to be the first meeting between the two countries' senior members of the military since Mr Trump was sworn in.



