U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a press conference Tuesday after a closed-door meeting that included U.S. President Donald Trump.

Earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported that arms control, Syria and the conflict in Ukraine and Syria would top their agenda.  

Speaking to reporters moments afterwards, the two exchanged sharp words over the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Pompeo said any foreign interference in America's elections is "unacceptable". 

"The Trump administration will always work to protect the integrity of our elections, period," Pompeo said. "Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response." 

The White House also said in a statement that Trump "warned against any Russian attempts to interfere in United States elections and urged Russia to resolve the conflict with Ukraine". 

Lavrov denied Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, calling the accusations "baseless".

Lavrov said he has not seen the White House account but said: "We haven't even actually discussed elections." 

The U.S. President Donald Trump is facing impeachment for allegedly soliciting Ukrainian interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Pompeo and Lavrov said their countries remained far apart on terms for extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that expires next year.

The two ministers also discussed the Ukraine peace process. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, along with leaders from France and Germany, to discuss reviving the peace process.