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Lavrov to discuss Syria-related issues on summit sidelines

Apart from talks John Kerry, Lavrov is to have contacts with his counterparts from China, Vietnam and Thailand

Photo ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metsel

Photo ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metsel

BALI ISLAND, Indonesia, October 7 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov would hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

Apart from talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Lavrov is to have contacts with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, and Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Thailand's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A source at Russia's Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass that the main subject of discussion during the Lavrov-Kerry meeting would be "the situation around Syria in the context of implementation of the initiative aimed at eliminating chemical weapons". As a result of the talks, the sides were expected to sign a bilateral agreement on National Nuclear Risk Reductio Centers (NNRRC).

In September, Rosatom CEO Sergei Kiriyenko and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signed an agreement on joint research in the nuclear sphere. The agreement presupposes interaction on matters concerning new technologies in nuclear power sector, and the safety of the handling of nuclear wastes.

The document, along with the agreement on NNRRC was being prepared for adoption within the framework of a planned visit to Moscow by US President Barack Obama early in September. At the last moment the visit was postponed by the American side.

Putin and Obama were to meet during the summit on Bali but the US president cancelled the trip on the plea of problems with US budget. The decision was connected with the shutdown of the American administration's work and talks with Congress on the issue.

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