MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov presented Russia’s initiatives on how to overcome the crisis in the countries of the Global South, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday after Lavrov’s participation in an online ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

"The Russian side presented key initiatives on the overcoming of the current energy and food crises in the poor countries of the Global South, which was provoked by the illegitimate sanctions of the collective West and its former systemic mistakes. In practical terms, they are the creation of a gas distribution center in Turkey and the priority of exports of agricultural products to the poorest countries under the Black Sea Initiative," it said.

According to the ministry, the top diplomats discussed current issues and noted "certain progress on a number of suspended issues on the agenda under Serbia’s presidency in the first six months of 2023." "They stressed the importance for more active efforts on the draft of a new regional energy strategy," it said.

The Russian foreign minister laid bare Moscow’s approaches to cooperation within the BSEC and stressed the importance of diversifying the organization’s external ties on an equal, fair and mutually beneficial basis, enhancing its role as an independent economic center, the ministry added.

Members of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation are 13 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine).