UNITED NATIONS, September 25. /TASS/. The dialogue between Russia and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) is actively developing, and Moscow expects national leaders to take part in the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow in October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"The dialogue between Russia and the Confederation is developing rapidly. The consultations <…>, which took place on July 8 in Niger’s capital, Niamey, were very useful. Once again, I would like to sincerely thank our Nigerien friends for their hospitality and excellent organisation of the consultations," Lavrov said at a meeting with AES foreign ministers on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly.

"I am confident that today we will continue exploring the promising areas of cooperation we have already discussed. We have achieved tangible results in many of them, although further work remains to be done," the Russian minister added.

Lavrov went on to say that certain aspects of preparations for the 3rd Russia-Africa summit due in Moscow on October 28-29 will be addressed at the meeting.

"We look forward to welcoming your leaders there," he said.