Pompeo
© AP/Andrew HarnikSecretary of State Mike Pompeo
The reason for the upcoming testimony hasn't been revealed yet, while Pompeo himself has yet to comment on the information.

Republican Senator Bob Corker has announced that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to testify on Russia before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week. According to the senator, the White House "got to be reeling" after the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, the reason for the testimony, as well as the exact date, remains unknown. Neither the US State Department, nor the White House or Pompeo himself have commented on the issue yet.

The development comes a day after the US president and Pompeo returned from Helsinki, where the first one-on-one meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took place. The talks were dedicated to a number of pressing issues, including the alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential vote, Syria, gas supplies to Europe, the Iranian nuclear deal.

While the presidents hailed the summit as successful and productive, the joint press conference of the heads of state sparked criticism among many current and former US officials. Particularly, ex-CIA chief Brennan lashed out at Trump, calling his performance "treasonous," while Senator Lindsey Graham slammed the speech as a "missed opportunity" to hold Russia accountable for the alleged meddling in the 2016 election.

Speaking at the press conference, both leaders have yet again reiterated their stances on the ongoing Russia probe conducted by US Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. When speaking at the presser, Putin emphasized that Russia hadn't meddled in the US election, while voiced readiness to let US representatives in the country in order to probe suspected individuals. In his turn, Trump, who has repeatedly called the Russia probe a "witch hunt," blamed the investigation for the poor state of Russia-US bilateral relations.

On the eve of the summit, the Justice Department indicted 12 suspected Russian intelligence officers on suspicions that they were involved in cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign.