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Swedish foreign minister hails as ‘constructive and frank’ talks with Sergey Lavrov

In particular, the talks focused on the problem of protection of the freedom of speech that representatives of the Russian-language media face abroad

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde praised as ‘constructive’ her Tuesday’s talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Constructive and frank talks today with my Russian colleague Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," Ann Linde blogged on her Twitter page. "Appreciate FM Lavrov’s hospitality," said Linde, who is also OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. "Focus on our common challenges as members of the OSCE," she specified.

On Tuesday, Lavrov met with his Swedish counterpart who had arrived in Moscow in the capacity of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. The agenda included an exchange of opinions on the settlement of crises in Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria. The diplomats expressed hope that they would manage to reach progress on these tracks. Besides, the Russian side seized the opportunity to point to numerous problems inside the European security agency, whose settlement would necessitate consensus of the member states and the balance of interests.

In particular, the talks focused on the problem of protection of the freedom of speech that representatives of the Russian-language media face abroad. Lavrov and Linde also discussed bilateral relations, which, according to the top Russian diplomat are far from being at their best. However, the foreign ministers noted major potentials in their countries for the development of cooperation in the spirit of good-neighborly relations.

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