US President Donald Trump’s decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey will not affect relations between Russia and the United States, that’s Washington’s internal affair, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked how this decision again raising the issue of Russia’s alleged involvement in the US election, could affect the bilateral ties. In brief comments to reporters, Trump said the Comey case had no effect "at all" on his meeting Lavrov, and he defended the firing of the FBI director because "he wasn't doing a good job." Lavrov's meeting with Trump and Tillerson in Washington comes less than 24 hours after news of the firing of FBI Director James Comey, which ushered in a wave of criticism from Democrats and some Republicans with renewed calls for an independent investigator into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including alleged collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.  Trump Hosts Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov And Ambassador Kislyak At White House 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/Getty Images Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/Getty Images 
 
 President Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House on Wednesday, one day after firing the man whose agency is investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election that brought Trump to power. https://t.co/fvTW6W3DnFpic.twitter.com/riP7EFr3xR — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) May 10, 2017 
 
 Lavrov also met earlier Wednesday with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department. USA TODAY 
 
 Wednesday's meetings could signal progress between the two nations since then.
– US News says he "appeared to get irritated," while Politico and NBC note he was being sarcastic, but if Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov didn't know about President Trump firing FBI Director James Comey before Wednesday morning's presser at the State Department, he does now. Lavrov, who's in town to meet with Trump, appeared with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell asked, "Does the Comey firing cast a shadow over the talks, gentlemen?" That sent Tillerson to the door while Lavrov lingered. "Was he fired?" he asked. "You're kidding—you're kidding!" Lavrov made a dismissive gesture with his head and exited the room with Tillerson. Per the State Department, Lavrov's sit-down with Trump on Wednesday was to focus on Syria, the conflict in Ukraine, and "bilateral issues," USA Today reports. NPR notes that even though the Lavrov-Trump meeting was closed to the US press, Russian agencies tweeted pictures of Trump with Lavrov and also with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who was not mentioned on the original itinerary. When the American media was allowed into the Oval Office, they found Trump sitting with Richard Nixon's secretary of state, Henry Kissinger—also a surprise appearance. Meanwhile, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he didn't think the Comey firing would impact the US-Russia relationship, calling it an "independent decision" by Trump that "has nothing to do and should have nothing to do with Russia," per the TASS news agency.