"We confirm that the planning [of a visit to Moscow] is underway. According to the information we have received from the Russian embassy, the ministerial meeting has been planned. But it will be the Russian side that will set the date," Karlis Eihenbaums said, adding that the Latvian Foreign minister will also visit Kiev on January 9-10.
Eihenbaums said the current situation in Ukraine will be the central theme at the Moscow meeting. "We would like to hear from the Ukrainian partners and the Russian side their vision on [the ways] to recover from the crisis," the spokesperson added.
According to Eihenbaums, it is crucially important for the bilateral meeting to take place before January 19, as on this date the EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Brussels to discuss the European Union's relations with Russia.
Relations between Russia and the EU deteriorated amid Ukrainian crisis, as European leaders kept on blaming Moscow for its alleged meddling in Ukrainian internal conflict. However, late in December Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russia-EU relations will remain Moscow's foreign policy priority despite the current tensions. EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Western countries wish to end the "logic of confrontation" in their relations with Russia.
