As Washington reels from the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and investigations continue into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been in the US capital.

Lavrov's talks with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday were the highest-level public contact between Trump and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin since the Republican took office. Their meeting focused on Ukraine, defeating ISIL and de-escalating the war in Syria, but there was no escaping the Comey controversy.

Lavrov then went to the White House. The US press was barred from the meeting but Russia's Foreign Ministry released pictures of President Trump with Lavrov and the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Lavrov said the meetings touched on creating four safe zones in Syria, including one in the south that would establish a buffer between the fighting and US allies, Jordan and Israel.

President Putin said the firing of James Comey, who was leading a probe into alleged ties between Russia and Trump's election campaign, won't affect relations with Russia. Moscow denies any involvement with meddling in the US election. Putin and Trump are expected to meet in July at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.