
MOSCOW, 17 May (BelTA) – Belarus has been invited to participate in the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi this summer, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov told reporters, BelTA has learned.
According to the Russian foreign minister, during the talks Sergey Lavrov and his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik agreed to step up cooperation within the framework of integration structures. In particular, they reviewed the results of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council meeting that has recently been held in India. Sergey Lavrov informed Sergei Aleinik about the steps Russia is taking to help promptly complete the procedures to grant Belarus full membership in the SCO.
The foreign ministers exchanged their views on cooperation prospects between Belarus and Russia and the Union State on the one part and the global South - Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America – on the other. “We have discussed separately the program of the 2nd edition of the Russia-Africa Summit that is due in Sochi this summer. We expect our Belarusian friends to take part in it,” the Russian foreign minister said.