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When he chose Wray to lead the FBI in 2017, Trump praised him as \"a man of impeccable credentials.\"

While the White House did not explain the rationale behind the timing of Lavrov's Tuesday visit to the White House, a number of issues have for years strained the U.S.-Russia relationship -- a determination by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump chief among them.

The high-profile visit will play to Russia's interests in dividing Americans in a polarized time, particularly considering the ongoing impeachment inquiry in the House, Heather Conley, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Europe program, told ABC News.

It also throws into stark contrast the divergence between Trump's predilection for engagement with Russia and Congress's generally more hawkish approach, she said.

\"Considering the tensions in the relationship with Russia, it just seems absolutely unnecessary for the President to meet with a foreign minister,\" Conley said. \"If business needs to be conducted, it could happen, certainly, at the foreign minister level.\"

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