Lavrov meets with Austrian and Finnish FMs in Slovakia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with new Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on the sidelines of the informal ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Before the meeting start, the ministers exchanged several remarks about the recent reshuffling in the Austrian government and the country’s foreign policy course in the light of these changes. 

Lavrov also met with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto on the sidelines of the informal ministerial meeting of the OSCE. It was their first meeting following Haavisto’s appointment as Finland’s foreign minister after a new government had been formed in June.

"Allow me to congratulate you on the appointment. We have read the [cabinet’s] program, and, as far as we understand, it emphasizes the continuity in relations between Finland and Russia. We welcome that," TASS cited the Russian top diplomat as saying.

Lavrov already met with his Kazakh counterpart Beibut Atamkulov and held a conversation with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak during an informal dinner.