JAKARTA /Indonesia/, July 12. /TASS/. Russia supports the steps taken by Indonesia as the holder of ASEAN chairmanship to promote the basic principles of the association, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Jakarta.

Marsudi warmly greeted the Russian minister at the start of the talks.

"We, of course, would like to use this opportunity to discuss some bilateral issues, but also to dedicate some time to ASEAN issues," Lavrov said. "We have always supported ASEAN, and we support Indonesia as the holder of chairmanship in promoting the basic principles of ASEAN in the context of Asia-Pacific development. First of all, in the context of the regional architecture, which, we all agree, should be ASEAN-centric. We see that Indonesia is committed to these principles."

Lavrov is also scheduled to hold talks on Wednesday with Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn. Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian minister held a trilateral meeting with Marsudi and Wang Yi, head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The minister is also set to have bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the ASEAN multilateral events. Lavrov's visit to Indonesia will last until July 14.