6th round of Astana talks kicks off Sept. 13: Lavrov

CAIRO – 8 September 2017: “The seventh round of Astana talks will be held on September 13-15,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a joint press conference with his French counterpart in Moscow on Friday.

Lavrov expected a constructive dialogue on Syria, Libya and Ukraine with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. "We are happy to welcome you in Moscow. This is our third meeting in three months, which means that we have common interests and are ready to discuss them," Lavrov said at the opening of the meeting with Le Drian.

“Idlib (Syria) will be included soon to the de-escalation zone deal,” Lavrov revealed.

Le Drian stressed that a diplomatic solution is not offered on the table in dealing with the North Korea nuclear crisis.

Lavrov will pay a working visit to Saudi Arabia and Jordan on September 9-11, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

During his regional trip, Lavrov will meet with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, Zakharova noted.