Lavrov and Cavusoglu to meet in Sochi next week

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will pay a visit to Sochi next week and meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on December 29, according to diplomatic sources. The two officials are expected to address bilateral relations as well as regional issues.

According to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Lavrov and Cavusoglu will discuss the implementation of the agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The emphasis will be on minimizing the risks of possible clashes and providing humanitarian assistance to the parties, Zakharova said, speaking at a news conference in Moscow.

"On Dec. 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, will pay a working visit to our country, the city of Sochi, to participate in the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group operating within the framework of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council," she noted.

"The focus will be on establishing the joint Russian-Turkish center for monitoring the cease-fire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone," Daily Sabah cited Zakharova as saying.

According to the spokesperson, the two ministers have on the agenda "a wide range of regional and international issues," including the situation in the regions of the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, Central Asia, Ukraine, and the Black Sea.

In addition, the two ministers will discuss ways to improve the effectiveness of interaction at the sites of international organizations, she said.