Lavrov, German FM committed to enhancing cooperation in energy - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock during Tuesday's talks reiterated their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the field of energy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The sides confirmed mutual commitment to further strengthening cooperation in the field of energy, climate action and environment, and on the humanitarian track," the statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website following the talks said.

Lavrov and Baerbock discussed the current state and prospects of Russian-German relations, the drafting of a timeline of political contacts, and practical aspects of pursuing cooperation in various fields and a reset of the existing interaction mechanisms.

They also had an intensive exchange of opinions on the most relevant items of the international agenda.

"The parties considered Russia's initiatives on comprehensive security guarantees in Europe, primarily in the context of the Russian-American negotiations in Geneva on January 10, as well as the meetings dealing with these problems in Brussels and Vienna within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE Permanent Council on January 12 and 13," it said.

Lavrov and Baerbock addressed the situation in the Commonwealth of Independent States area and analyzed the Ukrainian settlement process, "with the common understanding that the Minsk Package of Measures is inviolable and has no alternative," it said.

"The Russian side placed a special emphasis on the unacceptability of Berlin's attempts to portray Moscow as a party to the conflict. Prospects of interaction in the Normandy format were also discussed," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.