
MINSK, 19 January (BelTA) - Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov arrived on a visit to Belarus on 18 January, BelTA has learned.
Earlier it was reported that Sergey Lavrov would visit Belarus on 19 January to participate in a joint meeting of the collegiums of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Russia. Such events have been held annually since 2000. They are an effective mechanism for synchronizing the efforts of the two countries in the international arena.
The forthcoming session will focus on the implementation of the program of concerted actions in foreign policy of the Union State Treaty for 2022-2023. The parties will also touch upon cooperation in foreign policy planning, coordination of actions with regard to the EU, NATO, the Council of Europe, joint work in the OSCE, interaction at multilateral platforms in arms control and counteraction to the West's policy of politicizing international economic and human rights organizations.
Plans are in place to sign a resolution of the meeting, a plan of ministerial consultations for 2023 and an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on biosafety.
Sergey Lavrov admitted that he likes to visit Minsk as he answered a question from BelTA about his expectations of the upcoming visit to Minsk during a press conference in Moscow on 18 January.
"I always look forward to my visits to Minsk," Sergey Lavrov said. “These are always very useful trips from the point of view of professional activities. I love the city, the traditional hospitality that I see everywhere, at every step."
The minister recalled that the main purpose of the upcoming visit is a joint meeting of the collegiums of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and the Russian Federation. It was planned for December, but due to the untimely death of the head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei, it was postponed.
According to Sergey Lavrov, the meeting will discuss a whole range of topics. "The problems of the world order, relations with NATO, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OSCE - structures that are now increasingly merging into a single body fulfilling the will of one suzerain - the United States," he said. The same trends are increasingly seen in the activities of the OSCE, the Russian foreign minister added.
"We will consider, in a trusting manner, specific issues of our diplomatic activities, including those resolutions that are put to vote in various UN bodies, including issues of foreign policy coordination," Sergey Lavrov added.