MOSCOW. April 13 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to take part in a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Reykjavik on May 19-20, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large for International Cooperation in the Arctic Nikolai Korchunov said.
"Such an event is on the minister's schedule. We attach a lot of significance to it, as we're taking over the Arctic Council's presidency," Korchunov told Interfax.
Meanwhile, a Russian Foreign Ministry source told Interfax that "it's too early to talk about any Russian-American contacts during this event."
"The level and format of Russia's participation in the Arctic Council's ministerial meeting in Reykjavik in May is currently under consideration, and there is no final decision yet," the source said.
"We don't have enough information on the level at which the other members of this association will be represented there," the source said.
The Kommersant newspaper reported earlier, citing sources, that Lavrov would take part in the ministerial meeting on the Arctic and "is very likely to have separate bilateral negotiations" with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on its sidelines.