Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Annalena Baerbock

On January 18, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Federal Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany Annalena Baerbock who was in Moscow on a working visit.

The ministers discussed the current state and prospects of Russian-German relations, the schedule of political contacts, practical issues of building cooperation in various spheres and re-launching existing mechanisms for interaction. The mutual commitment to further deepen cooperation in energy, climate and environmental protection, as well as in healthcare, education and scientific research, was confirmed.

The ministers had an intensive exchange of views on pressing items on the international agenda. They reviewed Russia’s initiatives on comprehensive security guarantees in Europe, primarily in the context of the Russia-US talks that were held in Geneva on January 10, as well as the meetings in Brussels and Vienna within the Russia-NATO Council and the OSCE Permanent Council on January 12-13.

Special attention was given to the current situation in the CIS. The intra-Ukrainian settlement process was analysed in detail with a shared understanding of the inviolability of and lack of alternative to the Minsk Package of Measures. The Russian side stressed that Berlin's attempts to portray Moscow as a party to the conflict are unacceptable. The prospects for cooperation within the Normandy format were discussed as well.

The state of affairs in Kazakhstan and on the Belarusian-Polish border was discussed separately.

Other international issues that came under discussion included Syria and Libya, developments in Afghanistan, and the prospects for the Vienna talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to address the Iranian nuclear programme.

In addition, Sergey Lavrov and Annalena Baerbock shared assessments of bilateral cooperation on climate change, ecology and environmental protection.