Lavrov to attend Council of Europe ministerial session in Vienna on May 5-6
MOSCOW. May 5 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in the Vienna session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will participate in the 124th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Vienna on May 5-6," says a commentary of the Russian Foreign Ministry's information and press department released on Monday.
Lavrov will attend a ceremony dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Council of Europe on Monday and a political debate "Council of Europe values and stability in Europe: current challenges" on May 6.
Meanwhile, acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia said after negotiations with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and Sebastian Kurz, Foreign Minister of Austria, which chairs the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, that the Vienna session would be dedicated to the Ukrainian situation.
Deshchytsia said Ukraine expected the delegates to debate the Ukrainian situation and make a decision, which would reflect "the real state of affairs resulting from the annexation of Crimea and the need to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine."
In turn, the Austrian minister said he expected the ministerial session to offer an opportunity for de-escalating tensions in Ukraine.
