Lavrov meets with ASEAN foreign ministers on sidelines of Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi

SOCHI, May 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held a meeting with foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, the Foreign Ministry wrote on its Facebook page on Friday. "Lavrov held a working lunch with foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries," the ministry said. Russia-ASEAN summit The Russia-ASEAN summit kicked off in Sochi on Thursday, and it is the biggest international event in Russia in 2016. The summit is held under the slogan "Towards Strategic Partnership for the Sake of the Common Good." The summit is expected to adopt a declaration that will lay the basis for an action plan of Russia-ASEAN cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres, as well as in the sphere of security. Russia has been a dialog partner of ASEAN since July 1996. Similar partnership summits are normally held on the territory of member-states and the choice of Sochi as venue for the Russia-ASEAN summit on the partnership’s 20th anniversary is symbolic. Read more