On May 20 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Marise Payne on the Australian side’s initiative.

The ministers discussed topical aspects of Russian-Australian relations with emphasis on the pragmatic development of their cooperation in the spheres of mutual interest as well as the problems of international interaction in countering the spread of the novel coronavirus in the context of the results of the 73^rd session of the World Health Assembly.

They noted the interest in developing political dialogue at foreign office top level, the subsequent increase in mutual trade and provision for its more balanced nature.

They also exchanged views on ways to invigorate interaction using the mechanism of East Asian summits and the councils of ASEAN defense ministers with their dialogue partners (ADMM plus), including the issues of combatting infectious diseases and broader cooperation in the field of  military medicine.

The ministers agreed to intensify consultations on security issues in the Asian-Pacific Region.

Marise Payne touched upon the continuing investigation of the МН17 catastrophe above Ukraine in July 2014. Sergey Lavrov said that Russia will disseminate in the UN a comprehensive document with the facts revealing the serious problems in the operation of the Netherlands-established Joint Investigative Team (JIT), whose activities fail to conform to the high standards set by UN Security Council Resolution 2166. He also reaffirmed the readiness of Russian experts to hold consultations with their Australian and Netherlands colleagues to clear up answers to the numerous questions put during their cooperation with the JIT.