On October 12, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Minister of External Relations and International Cooperation of the Republic of Burundi, Alain Aime Nyamitwe, who is in Moscow on a working visit.

The foreign ministers exchanged views on important issues of the international and African agenda and reiterated the commitment of Moscow and Bujumbura to further expand cooperation within the UN and other multilateral platforms.

Special emphasis was placed on strengthening the African security architecture and peacekeeping, and unlocking crisis situations in hot spots, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Somalia. Particular emphasis was placed on the priority of political and diplomatic methods of conflict resolution with Africans themselves in the lead, and unconditional observance of the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of sovereign states.

Mr Nyamitwe informed his colleague in detail about the developments in Burundi, and the efforts of the country's leadership to establish a constructive dialogue with the opposition. Sergey Lavrov spoke in favour of continuing the intra-Burundian negotiation process while ensuring the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Promoting bilateral mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation was discussed in detail. The ministers stated significant potential of the Russian-Burundian partnership in the spheres of industry, mining, and interbank partnership.