Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during talks with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu, Moscow, March 16, 2022

Esteemed Mr Minister,

Dear Mevlut,

Colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome you. On March 10, 2022, we had a conversation on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, and we are meeting again today. This underscores the importance of our relations and ongoing coordination at a time when international relations are developing rapidly and not always positively.

Our regular trust-based political dialogue and contacts at various levels have a deeply symbolic meaning. The Treaty on Friendship and Brotherhood between the Government of the RSFSR and the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was signed precisely on March 16, 1921.

The priority issue on the foreign policy agenda is the situation in Ukraine and the need to resolve it as soon as possible. It is not a secret that our views on this issue differ. We appreciate and deeply respect the position voiced by Turkey, while trying to objectively address tasks stemming from the current crisis.

We see and appreciate Ankara’s responsible approach to honouring its commitments under the Montreux Convention.

We will exchange opinions on the situation in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and the South Caucasus.

We have a full and diverse agenda. We will talk about preparations for a regular meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council. President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to hold the event in Turkey. I am confident that, all circumstances considered, we will be able to agree on essential deadlines.

I believe the talks and your visit to be timely.