MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his newly-appointed Belarusian counterpart, Maxim Ryzhenkov, have agreed to continue close cooperation within international formats and exchanged views on pressing international problems, the Russian foreign ministry said after their phone call.

"The sides discussed current issues of Russian-Belarusian relations, exchanged views on pressing international and regional problems, and agreed to continue close cooperation within international formats," it said.

Lavrov "congratulated his Belarusian counterpart on being appointed foreign minister of the brotherly country," the ministry noted.

According to the Russian foreign ministry, the phone call was initiated by the Belarusian side.

On June 27, 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko appointed Maxim Ryzhenkov, a deputy head of the presidential administration, the country’s foreign minister to succeed Sergey Aleinik, who has been top Belarusian diplomat since December 2022.