STOCKHOLM, December 22. /TASS/. The pandemic has not severed ties between the foreign ministers of Russia and Sweden, the Swedish diplomatic agency is hoping that the regional organizations of the two countries will continue to collaborate on issues of the Baltic and Barents Seas as well as the Arctic, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in an interview with TASS about the 2020 achievements.

"As neighbors, Sweden and Russia in 2020 were discussing cooperation in a range of political areas and not the least in ecology, climate, education and healthcare. In 2020, I met my [Russian] counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and also spoke with him on the phone. Therefore, the pandemic has not disrupted our ties. During my visit to Moscow, I lauded opportunities to communicate with representatives of the Russian civil society," the minister stressed, adding that she had "inspiring conversations with Russian students who take interest in Sweden."

"We had particularly productive cooperation of regional organizations on the issues of the Baltic and Barents Seas and the Arctic. We are hoping for more development of these areas of cooperation where we have common interests next year. Our goal is to expand interpersonal exchanges with Russia," Linde pointed out.