Maltese foreign minister holds bilateral talks with Russian counterpart

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela held bilateral talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov when paying a three-day working visit to Moscow, Russia, according to a press statement issued by the Maltese government’s Department of Information (DOI). Mr Abela also met former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev.

The two foreign ministers discussed pending bilateral issues between the two sides, as well as global issues, however, the DOI press statement does not include further details the two officials touched upon.

Mr Abela also exchanged views with Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the USSR and President of the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation). On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Malta Summit held on 2-3 December 1989, the two politicians commemorated when US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev would declare an end to the Cold War aboard the Soviet passenger liner Maxim Gorky anchored in a roadstead off the coast of Marsaxlokk.

Mr Abela also presented books in Maltese to the Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature. The library’s collection of about five million items in more than 140 languages had not included any in Maltese, prior to the event.

The minister also visited the premises of the Maltese embassy and consulate general in Moscow, where he met with the staff.

Throughout his visit to Moscow, Mr Abela was accompanied by Malta’s ambassador to Russia, Pierre Clive Agius, and by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, Fiona Formosa.