Russian top diplomat meets UN General Assembly head

A meeting between Russia's foreign minister and the UN General Assembly president began on Thursday in Moscow.

Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, said the purpose of the meet with Russia's Sergey Lavrov was to share and discuss plans of the UN General Assembly's future activities.

"The Russian Federation is one of the most important members of the United Nations Organization. Along with the fact that the Russian Federation is a member of the UN Security Council, it is also an important member that has its own weight and voice. In addition, Russia is a neighbor of the Republic of Turkey and important friend of our country.

"In addition, given that Mr. Lavrov was the head of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN for ten years, of course we would like to take advantage of his experience and listen to his valuable advice," said Bozkir.

The former Turkish diplomat said the UN General Assembly is "one of the three fundamental structures of the UN," along with the Security Council and the office of the General Secretariat, stressing the need to ensure strong coordination and close connection among the three bodies.

"Here, I would like to note that the UN authority and effectiveness have been declining in the eyes of the international community in recent years," he said.

Noting that it had become increasingly difficult under the novel coronavirus pandemic to implement the decisions of the General Assembly, Bozkir suggested to work together with Moscow towards this goal.

For his part, Lavrov congratulated Bozkir on his recent election to his post, underlining his confidence in the former Turkish diplomat's "vast experience of parliamentary diplomacy," and his will to pursue "a balanced, unbiased line" to help temper tensions and find solutions acceptable to all members of the international community.

Lavrov stressed that the next session of the General Assembly would be inextricably bound to two critical anniversaries -- the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 75th anniversary of the UN's foundation.

"This demands from all of us to build the work of the General Assembly around a unifying agenda with an emphasis on strengthening the central coordinating role of the UN, strictly observing its charter, and establishing a true multipolarity that is based on taking into account and balancing the interests of all members of the world community without exception," he said.

Lavrov criticized alleged attempts to exert undue influence on administrative bodies of the international organizations and to misinterpret international conventions.