UPDATE - Turkish foreign minister to visit Sochi next week

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM RUSSIA FOREIGN MINISTRY, REVISES DECK

By Murat Ozgur Guvendik and Elena Teslova

ANKARA/MOSCOW (AA) - The top Turkish diplomat is set to pay a visit to Sochi next week and meet his Russian counterpart, according to diplomatic sources.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet with Sergey Lavrov on Dec. 29. The two officials are expected to address bilateral relations as well as regional issues.

According to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Lavrov and Cavusoglu will discuss the implementation of the agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The emphasis will be on minimizing the risks of possible clashes and providing humanitarian assistance to the parties, Zakharova said, speaking at a news conference in Moscow.

"On Dec. 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, will pay a working visit to our country, the city of Sochi, to participate in the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group operating within the framework of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council.

"The focus will be on establishing the joint Russian-Turkish center for monitoring the cease-fire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone," she said.

According to Zakharova, the two ministers have on the agenda "a wide range of regional and international issues," including the situation in the regions of the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, Central Asia, Ukraine, and the Black Sea.

In addition, the two ministers will discuss ways to improve the effectiveness of interaction at the sites of international organizations, she said.

The previous meeting of the Council was held on March 29, 2019 in Antalya, Turkey.