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Russia's top diplomat, defense chief to visit Egypt on May 29

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu will visit Cairo on May 29, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"They (Lavrov and Shoigu) will hold separate talks with the Egyptian foreign and defense ministers, besides, the four of them will hold two-plus-two consultations," Zakharova said. "A meeting with the Egyptian president is also expected to take place," she added.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, the two ministers’ visit to Cairo "continues the series initiated in November 2013." "During the upcoming talks, the Russian foreign minister and defense minister plan to discuss key global and regional issues with their Egyptian counterparts, paying special attention to the situation in the Middle East and North Africa," Zakharova said. "The parties will discuss practical steps aimed at boosting cooperation in all spheres, including political, economic and military interaction," she added.

The visit comes at a time when the Middle East and North Africa are going through complex processes which cause crisis zones to expand and the terrorist threat to grow, the Russian diplomat pointed out. She said that participants in the Cairo talks would focus on the ways to find political and diplomatic solutions to regional conflicts based on international law, as well as to step up the fight against terror groups.".