Russian foreign minister meets Swedish ex prime minister

Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov and Swedish ex prime minister Carl Bildt discussed the Balkans stabilization process at their meeting on June 18th, said the Russian foreign ministry's information and press department in a release.

Carl Bildt "acted as a EU special envoy on the post-Yugoslavian territory and as a UN Secretary General special representative in the Balkans for a long time," the document says.

Ivanov and Bildt also discussed other topical problems of international politics. In particular, they stressed "the necessity to extensively use international legal tools in crisis settling and combating international terrorism," according to the release.

They also exchanged their opinions on "perspectives of extending Russian-EU partnership relations, including "Northern Dimension", and creating a united peaceful Europe without dividing lines," as well as pointed the importance of intensified regional cooperation in Northern Europe, the ministry reported.

The interlocutors agreed that "similarity of Russian and Swedish approaches to the key issues of international politics and efficient cooperation between the two countries on the international scene play an important role in strengthening security and stability in Europe," the release said.