MOSCOW, January 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov outlined on Tuesday priorities of Russia’s G8 presidency, listing among them fight against extremism and drug threat, as well as health protection and management of risks connected with natural calamities.
“Tasks of raising the efficiency on such directions as fight against drug threat, terrorism and extremism, health protection, formation of a global system of managing risks connected with man-caused and natural calamities, and of course contribution to the settlement of regional conflicts are among our G8 priorities,” the foreign minister said at a major news conference reviewing the results of 2013.
In pursuing its foreign policy last year, Russia was oriented towards “ensuring favorable social-political conditions for the development of the country, for the transition of its economy to the innovation track and for higher living standards of our citizens and the quality of their life,” he said.
“With that in view, Russia was consistently promoting a positive uniting international agenda to bring closer the settlement of fundamental problems of the modern world,” he said.
“It was these approaches that we were guided by in G20 presidency, and we are guided by the same approaches as the president of G8,” the foreign minister added.