Russian FM cancels visit to Berlin for talks

The visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Berlin on Tuesday was canceled due to changes in the working schedule of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"As you know, the timing of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Berlin, as well as the modality of his joint participation with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in the closing ceremony of the Russian-German Year of Scientific and Educational Partnerships 2018-2020 in Berlin on September 15 were agreed a year ago and were confirmed during the negotiations in Moscow on August 11, 2020," it said on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Sept. 3, the German side notified about changes in the working schedule of Maas, in connection with which his participation in the ceremony was cancelled, and only an hour and a half were given for bilateral negotiations, according to the statement.

"Thus, the initial and main purpose of Lavrov's visit to Berlin turned out to be irrelevant, and the proposed format of bilateral negotiations was greatly curtailed," it said.

"Against this background, a decision was made to cancel the mentioned visit. The relevant information was brought to the attention of the German side," it added.

Lavrov will send his greetings to the participants of the closing ceremony, the ministry said.