OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier discussed preparations for the Ministerial Council to take place in Dublin in December, as well as the Organization’s current activities and priorities during a working visit to the Russian Federation that got under way on 23 October 2012.

"This visit is a part of a regular dialogue with participating States of the OSCE," said Zannier following his meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

During the two-day visit, Zannier will also meet with high-level representatives of the Russian Federation's delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as with Dmitry Mezentsev, the Head of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization’s (SCO) Business Council who will become the SCO’s Secretary General in 2013, and with the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolay Bordyuzha. Zannier will also address students from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

"In the context of the preparations for the meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Dublin, we are discussing regional matters, as well as transnational threats, including terrorism, organized crime and trafficking; protracted conflicts in the OSCE region; and ways to make our Organization more effective and responsive to the needs of its participating States and to current security challenges, " Zannier said.

"Given the active role the Russian Federation plays in the OSCE, its sustained and constructive engagement in the process is essential."