Russian Foreign Minister Visits EU for First Time Since Ukraine Conflict Erupts

This is the first visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the European Union country since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

The decision to hold the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Malta on December 5-6 "applies to all members, including the Russian Federation," the Maltese Embassy in Russia said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. (Photo: Reuters)

"OSCE delegations are regularly informed about the progress of preparations. Invitations will be sent to all OSCE delegations in the coming period," the Vedomosti daily reported.

In July, while attending a meeting of the UN Security Council, the Russian Foreign Minister's plane also flew from Moscow for more than 12 hours via the northern route to avoid "unfriendly countries". According to TASS , no unexpected events occurred during the 12-hour flight.

Russia has recently stepped up military spending to protect its security and continue its military conflict with Ukraine. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on October 31 that the Russian government is looking to reallocate 7 trillion rubles in its three-year budget and spend more money on the military.

The draft decree allocates 13.5 trillion rubles to the military by 2025, accounting for a third of total spending and 6.3% of GDP. New amendments suggest that figure could be higher. According to Reuters , this is the first time that Russia's defense spending has been twice as large as social spending.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the government was preparing about 900 amendments to the draft.

In addition, the Russian Finance Minister also mentioned Russia's military activities in Ukraine. Currently, the draft has been approved by the Russian State Duma after the first submission.

In early October, Russia also decided to allocate $145.5 billion for defense spending in 2025. Of this, $18.2 billion will be used to ensure the operations of the armed forces, national security and law enforcement agencies, and other military units of Russia in 2025. By 2026, this figure will increase to $18.7 billion and $19.2 billion in 2027.

Kong Anh (Source: Reuters)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ngoai-truong-nga-lan-dau-den-eu-ke-tu-khi-xung-dot-ukraine-bung-no-ar905121.html