As part of his official visit to the Russian Federation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, has had a meeting today in Moscow with his host and counterpart, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov. 

The meeting between the chiefs of the Macedonian and Russian diplomacies has been held in a much cordial, friendly and constructive atmosphere, whereas, over the course of their discussion, the two colleagues have exchanged their views on the overall relations and cooperation between the two countries. On that note, Russian Minister Lavrov has pointed out that the Russian Federation considers the Republic of Macedonia an important partner in both the bilateral context and in terms of aiding the efforts aimed at resolving regional problems, underling the Russian position of being against any kinds of changes being made to the existing borders in Europe and specifically in the Balkans.

Furthermore, Ministers Poposki and Lavrov have both agreed that the political relations between Macedonia and Russia have been on an upward spiral, underling that there is a great potential for further developing the cooperation between the two countries in all areas of mutual interest and particularly in the ones concerning economy and commerce. In that context, Minister Poposki has called for strengthening the cooperation with Russia in fields such as the energy industry and trade, placing a special emphasis on the possibilities of Russian companies making direct investments in Macedonia. 

Over the course of the discussion, Minister Poposki has also raised the issue of finalizing the projects concerning the energy domain such as the construction of a section connecting the Republic of Macedonia to the South Stream gas pipeline and the development of the national gas supply network of the Republic of Macedonia, asking Minister Lavrov, on that occasion, for his support in urging the Russian side to take a more active approach towards its involvement in the implementation of the aforementioned projects that are of vital importance to the energy future of the Republic of Macedonia.

Moreover, Minister Poposki and his esteemed Russian host have also discussed a number of matters concerning the field of education, launching, on that occasion, an initiative for establishing cooperation between the Diplomatic Academies of the two countries, as well as for increasing the participation of Macedonian diplomats in specialist courses that the Diplomatic Academy at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is offering, while increasing, on the other hand, the number of Russian students pursing their studies at Macedonian universities by utilizing the various scholarship-awarding programs that they have on offer.

The two Ministers have also reflected on the issue of finalizing the contractual framework between the two countries, confirming that the bilateral agreements on cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking and on establishing cooperation between the customs authorities and energy producing companies of Macedonia and Russia will very soon be signed by representatives of the two countries.

On that occasion, the chiefs of the Macedonian and Russian diplomacies have signed the Agreement on Opening Cultural and Information Centres of the two countries in both Skopje and Moscow which will greatly contribute towards further strengthening the existing cultural ties between Macedonia and Russia. 

The readiness for expanding the cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries has also been reaffirmed by the signing of a new Consultations Agenda for the coming two years (2013 and 2014). 

In addition to meeting his Russian host and counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Minister Poposki has today also had a meeting with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Russian State Duma, Alexey Pushkov which has been focused on the parliamentary cooperation that the Republic of Macedonia and the Russian Federation have thus far been having, as well as on the possibilities for expanding and intensifying the economic cooperation between the two countries in the forthcoming period. 

As part of his official visit to the Russian Federation, Minister Poposki has also had a meeting with the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.