Slovakian, Russian foreign ministers set to meet in Moscow

RUSSIA

Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak will meet on Monday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss bilateral relations and issues of security and cooperation in Europe, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Andrei Nesterenko said that besides bilateral relations the foreign ministers are expected to discuss a number of key international issues as well as Russia’s interaction with the European Union and NATO.

“Sergei Lavrov and Miroslav Lajcak are expected to discuss a complex of relations between Russia and the European Union and cooperation within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council,” Nesterenko said.

Lajcak, whose official visit to Russia begins on Monday and lasts until September 9, is also scheduled to meet with Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian upper house’s international affairs committee, and Konstantin Kosachyov, the chairman of the lower house’s foreign affairs committee.

Russia and Slovakia established intergovernmental relations in 1993 and the trade between the countries totaled some USD 9.3 billion in 2008.