MOSCOW, February 11,  /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra, who has arrived in Moscow at Lavrov’s invitation, will discuss the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and the development of bilateral cooperation in fuel and energy, Russian Foreign Ministry officials said on Tuesday.

Moscow hopes the foreign ministers will be able to “exchange views on current international and regional issues”, including “the situation inside Syria and around it, the situation in North Africa and the Sahara-Sahel region as well as the Middle East settlement”, the officials said, adding that Russia and Algeria had similar views on most foreign policy issues.

“Both countries urge ensuring stability and balance of interests in international relations, strengthening the central role of the United Nations and respecting the fundamental norms and principles of international law, including the right of people to decide their own destiny without outside interference,” the ministry officials said.

Lavrov and Lamamra will also discuss the current state of and prospects for further development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

“Algeria is one of Russia’s main trading and economic partners in Africa and the Arab World,” the officials said. “Bilateral foreign trade turnover over the first eleven months of 2013 reached 1.567 billion dollars.