Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised contribution by EU countries to providing aid to Russia to fighting forest fires.

(Kazan, August 11, Tatar-Inform). Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised contribution by EU countries to providing aid to Russia to fighting forest fires.

In a telephone conversation with EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Catherine Ashton on Wednesday, Lavrov said he “is grateful to Catherine Ashton for the EU aid”.

Commenting on the telephone talk between Lavrov and Ashton, the Foreign Ministry said, “The sides discussed Russia-EU interaction within an initiative put forth by Dmitry Medvedev and Angela Merkel to create a committee for foreign policy and security, as well as cooperation on the Middle East, the Balkans, Transcaucasia and the Dniester settlement,” Itar-Tass quotes.

Lavrov and Ashton agreed to hold a meeting of Russian and EU foreign ministers within the 1 plus 27 format on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September.

*Sh