Lavrov flies to Antalya for talks with Cavusoglu

ArmInfo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Antalya on June 30 for talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. During the meeting, the  ministers will discuss the state and prospects for the development of  bilateral relations, as well as topical issues on the regional and  international agenda.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, during the talks in  Antalya, it is planned to touch upon a wide range of topics on the  bilateral and international agenda. The situation in the Caucasus,  the state of affairs in the Middle East and North Africa, in  Afghanistan, the situation in Ukraine, in Central Asia, in the  Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region will be discussed.

It is planned to substantively discuss the course of the political  settlement of the Syrian conflict against the background of the  presidential elections held in the SAR on May 26, 2021 and the  ongoing preparations for the sixth session of the Drafting Commission  of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva. The agenda will also  include building up humanitarian assistance to local residents, the  state of affairs in Idlib and northeastern Syria, and the fight  against terrorism.

A substantive exchange of views will take place on the prospects for  the development of the situation in Libya, taking into account the  positive contribution of the foreign policy initiatives of Moscow and  Ankara to the cause of a comprehensive settlement of the crisis in  this country. Among the main topics at the talks are preparations for  a referendum on the constitution and general elections, which are  scheduled for December 24, 2021, assistance to the Libyan authorities  in solving political and socio-economic problems and the  consolidation of the national armed forces, the activities of the  Joint Military Committee in the format "5 plus 5 ".

During the meeting, considerable attention will be paid to ways of  intensifying bilateral trade and economic cooperation and ensuring  its qualitative growth. To note, in January-April 2021, mutual trade  grew by 22.5% to $ 9.1 billion compared to the same period in 2020,  including Russian exports - by 21.1% to 7.2 billion US dollars, and  imports - by 27.8% to 1.9 billion US dollars. At the same time, work  on the elimination of trade barriers used by Turkey remains relevant.  The Russian side intends to emphasize the need to remove additional  import customs duties on a wide range of domestic goods.  Special  attention will be paid to expanding cooperation in high-tech areas,  including military-technical cooperation.

It is envisaged to discuss issues of ensuring the safety of life and  health of Russian citizens in Turkey, taking into account the full  resumption of bilateral passenger flights from June 22, 2021. The  topics of interaction of the relevant authorities of the two  countries to increase efforts in the fight against coronavirus  infection, the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will be discussed  and the early establishment of its production by Turkish  pharmaceutical companies.

The bilateral agenda also includes an exchange of views on the state  of Russian-Turkish cultural and humanitarian cooperation and  interaction between the civil society institutions of our countries.   We hope that the upcoming meeting of ministers will contribute to the  further development of multifaceted relations between Russia and  Turkey.