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Russia proposes measures on strengthening of cooperation between Baltic States

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that the meeting attendees have confirmed the role of the Council of the Baltic Sea States as key mechanism of multilateral and intergovernmental cooperation

MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. Russia has proposed a complex of measures on strengthening of cooperation of the Baltic Sea nations within the framework of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following a meeting of the Council’s foreign ministers Tuesday.

"We have discussed in substance the effect of the crisis caused by the coronavirus infection on the multilateral interaction in the region. All participants were unanimous that the ongoing situation significantly affect many aspects of the international relations and requires rethinking of approaches of activity of multilateral structures, among other things," Lavrov said. "We have called on our partners to think about systemic steps that would make it possible to consolidate our efforts to find regional responses to the global challenges emerging in the region. We have offered to implement a complex of concrete measures within the framework of the CBSS to strengthen the Baltic cooperation."

"For example, we have underscored the importance of development of a new strategic paper for the Baltic region, which would define the aims and goals of our interaction for the decade that begins in 2021. This is when the current Lithuanian declaration, which outlined the main directions of the Council’s activity for the current decade, will expire," the top diplomat explained.

Lavrov pointed out that the meeting attendees have confirmed the role of the CBSS as key mechanism of multilateral and intergovernmental cooperation, which "facilitates creation of space of trust, stability and sustainable development."

"We have stated that the two key elements of cooperation within the Council are the political dialogue and practical cooperation, implementation of concrete projects," the minister said.