LYUBLYANA, December 28. /TASS/. The ties between Russia and Slovenia have developed despite the COVID-19 restrictions which were in effect in 2021, Russian Ambassador to Slovenia Timur Eyvazov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Despite the conditions that we had, primarily due to the COVID-19 restrictions, despite all these challenges we have managed to achieve a lot and, in general, the Russian-Slovenian relations are developing well," the Russian envoy noted.

Speaking about the significant events, which took place in 2021, Eyvazov mentioned the annual ceremony at the Russian Chapel under the Vrsic Pass, which was attended by numerous representatives of Slovenia’s political, cultural and social circles, including President Borut Pahor. The Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Konstantin Kosachev. "<…> This, in my opinion, is a very important and major event, which reflects the positive ties that we have preserved and are supporting between the peoples of Russia and Slovenia," the envoy said.

Eyvazov also recalled the Moscow talks between the Russian and Slovenian top diplomats, Sergey Lavrov and Anzhe Logar, which took place in May this year. According to the Russian ambassador, in 2021, several rounds of inter-ministerial consultations were held, including at the level of deputy ministers.

"Of course, I would also like to emphasize that we resumed the work of our intergovernmental commission after an almost two-year break. A meeting of the co-chairs took place in October. The Slovenian side was represented by Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Pochivalsek and the Russian side - by Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev. [Following the talks], a plan to boost cooperation in the field of agriculture was signed. Currently, we are planning to hold a full-format session of the intergovernmental commission early next year," the Russian envoy revealed.