Lavrov said that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was insisting on holding talks on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade starting from Thursday, adding that he would not be evading this contact. Lavrov is also scheduled to meet the Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos and the President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou.
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“We will not refuse this proposal”, Lavrov said at a press conference after talks in Nicosia with his Cypriot counterpart.
Çavuşoğlu had said on Wednesday that he had requested to meet his Russian counterpart in Belgrade this week and was waiting for a response, adding he does not want the tension with Moscow to escalate.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides expressed solidarity with Russian Federation in its efforts against global terrorism.
The refusal by Moscow to arrange a planned visit to the north coincides with broken down relations between Turkey and Russia following the downing of a Russian fighter jet in Syria by the Turkish Military on November 24.
Russian Federation responded harshly, with Putin declaring Russian Federation had been “stabbed in the back by the accomplices of terrorists”, referring to Turkey’s alleged underhanded oil dealings with the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Presidential Palace officials said Lavrov thanked President Nicos Anastasiades over Cyprus’ stand on last week’s shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey which also led to the death of one of the two pilots.
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Russian Federation has imposed sanctions against Turkish products in retaliation for the downing of its aircraft.
