Lavrov assured that his country will initially coordinate actions with its allies and strategic partners within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Those ‘are our priorities,’ said Lavrov in a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio, after talks with him and Prime Minister Mario Draghi, as per reports of the Sputnik news agency.

‘We will be ready to cooperate with all other countries that, in good faith, can contribute to the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan with an emphasis on ensuring security. Everything else will be secondary to our priorities,’ Lavrov said.

The foreign minister pointed out that Moscow would be willing to participate in the extraordinary meeting of the G20 on the Afghan crisis organized by the Italian presidency for next month, if it is extended to neighboring countries.

He pointed out that Russia wants to ‘better understand what role’ they give it in that meeting, and stated that, as promised, Russian priorities will be contained in five principles of the program.

‘But the fight against terrorism is the fifth point and our priorities are the security of the states in southern Russia and neighboring states,’ said Lavrov, who drew attention to the threat posed by the Afghan crisis for the region.

He considered that Pakistan, Iran and other countries that are not part of the G20 should also be invited to this meeting, and also stressed that the Italian government committed to doing so.

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