FM Demeke Holds Talks with His Russian Counterpart Sergey Lavrov
ADDIS ABEBA – Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen has held talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, about national and regional issues.
The Deputy Prime Minister briefed Lavrov on the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Tigray, said Ministry of Foreign affairs in a statement issued after the phone conversation on Monday.
Demeke explained to Lavrov that progress has been achieved in addressing the humanitarian situation in the region since the two last held a similar discussion last December.
He said collaborative efforts with humanitarian actors are underway on the ground to fully respond to the people in need of such assistance.
Lavrov thanked Demeke, who is also Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, for the briefing, according to the statement.
Russia understands and supports the effort the Government of Ethiopia is exerting to address the humanitarian challenges in the Tigray region, he said, adding that his country is always ready to continue to assist Ethiopia in this regard.
Lavrov also underlined the importance of further strengthening the collaboration between Africa and Russia, and expressed the readiness of his Government to hold the African TROIKA-Russian Summit in 2022 on African soil.
To further enhance the long-standing relations that exist between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized the need to boost trade and business relations and indicated that Russian business associations are increasingly engaging with their African counterparts to take the relationship in the field to the next level.
The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on regional issues, among which Demeke reiterated the position of the Ethiopian Government to resolve the border dispute with Sudan in a peaceful and amicable manner, according to Demeke’s office.
