Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sought to break the ice earlier today After months of raging tensions over Ukraine, by giving his US counterpart John Kerry two baskets full of potatoes and tomatoes.
Kerry was in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for talks with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his first visit to Russia in two years.
Lavrov surprised his guest by presenting Kerry with a basket of ripe red tomatoes and another one full of potatoes, the Russian foreign ministry said.
“It’s sunny in Sochi today,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook, an apparent reference not only to the blue skies over the city but also the upbeat mood at the talks.
Potatoes as presents have become a running joke between Kerry and Lavrov, with Kerry presenting his Russian counterpart with two large Idaho potatoes when the two met for talks on Syria in Paris in January, 2014.
The food baskets carry added resonance given that Moscow has slapped an embargo on US and European produce in response to Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
In Sochi, the Russian delegation also presented Washington’s top diplomat with a T-shirt commemorating Victory Day, which Russia celebrated on Saturday. V day is the day World War II ended in Europe.
