BISHKEK. April 3 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS Countries held in Bishkek was useful.
"The meeting was useful. It helped us to speak in an open format and in a private format, when the ministers had their meeting this morning. We are appreciative to our partners for the organization of this meeting," he told reporters on Friday.
Lavrov said the meeting had addressed issues relating to interaction between the CIS countries in the sphere of foreign policy, "including in regard of the upcoming events devoted to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War."
He recalled that the 40th anniversary of the OSCE Helsinki Act is also celebrated this year. "We discussed the future interaction between our delegations in the UN and the OSCE on these and other tracks," he said.
Lavrov said the meeting had also addressed the document and draft decisions that will be submitted for approval to the heads of states and heads of the governments of the CIS countries.
"They are related to cooperation in the sphere of culture and in the humanitarian sphere, as well as improvements of the work on teachers' training programs," Lavrov said.
"The meeting addressed the main issues relating to boosting the effectiveness of cooperation in the sphere of border security, including through the creation of a group of the CIS countries involving border guards and other agencies to control the situation on the external borders of the CIS," the minister said.