Lavrov to attend Council of Europe Committee of Ministers meeting in Brussels

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is departing for Brussels on Monday to attend a session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CMCE). The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Lavrov during his stay in the Belgian capital on May 18-19 will meet with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland and foreign ministers of other countries.

According to a TASS source, Lavrov is scheduled to meet in Brussels during these days with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The main CNCE events with the participation of the Russian minister will be held on May 19. They will focus on the joint responsibility for ensuring democratic security in Europe.

"The Russian side sees the main goal of its participation in the forthcoming session in confirming the Council of Europe’s important role as one of the most authoritative and representative international organisations of the European continent, called upon to promote the creation of a united Greater Europe without dividing lines, strengthening of the values ··of democracy, human rights protection mechanisms, the rule of law and the development of intercultural dialogue," Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in connection with Lavrov’s forthcoming visit.