Mbeki meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Former president Thabo Mbeki has met with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, with the latter describing the meeting as fruitful.

Mbeki had earlier had discussions with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Sandton, Johannesburg.

The Thabo Mbeki Foundation said Lavrov told the former president that they wanted to build strong relations with South Africa in a number of areas.

The Foreign Ministry of Russia confirmed the meeting between Mbeki and Lavrov.

"They expressed satisfaction with the high level of political interaction between Russia and South Africa, including at the UN, BRICS, and other international forums, and the closeness of their positions on major global issues. Mr Lavrov told Mr Mbeki about the key areas and plans for bilateral cooperation in trade, the economy, and the scientific, technical, and humanitarian fields.

"During the meeting, they focused on security issues, including the situation in Ukraine and around it," said the Russian foreign ministry.

Lavrov is taking part in the BRICS Summit as Russian leader Vladimir Putin could not attend in person because of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court.

All BRICS leaders were present at the summit, including Lula, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi of India, and President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the meeting.

Russia will host the next Brics summit in Kazan in October next year.

siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za

Politics