OREANDA-NEWS. April 18, 2011. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov met Guido Westerwelle, Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Berlin on April 15.

A thorough exchange of views took place on key issues of the bilateral and international agenda. In particular, the two parties discussed the situations in Libya and in the Middle East and North Africa as a whole, and the prospects for strengthening the Russia-European Union interaction in questions of foreign and security policy, particularly in the context of the settlement of the Transnistrian and other regional conflicts. The Russian side noted the importance of making headway towards a visa-free regime with the European Union on the basis of the list of “common steps.”

The parties also touched on some practical issues in Russian-German relations and on progress in preparations for the next Interstate Consultations at summit level, to be held in Germany this upcoming summer.