Russian Foreign Minister to visit Spain after meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers council in Porto

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is due to visit Spain following a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE member countries which is scheduled to take place in Porto (Portugal) on December 6th-7th, Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Yakovenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, the visit by the Russian Foreign Minister to Madrid "will be carried out within the framework of intensive Russian-Spanish contacts which have been expanding lately." Russia's top diplomatic official will hold talks with his Spanish counterpart Ana Palacio in order "to exchange views on bilateral relations," Yakovenko noted.

The ministers are expected to discuss "the two countries' cooperation in international affairs, especially in the light of Spain's forthcoming temporal membership in the United Nations Security Council," the official said.

Among other issues on the agenda of the forthcoming talks the two sides are expected to "focus on coordinating the schedule of political dialogue, improving legal and contractual basis and working out steps to expand trade, economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Spain," Alexander Yakovenko said.