Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed on Monday the Cyprus issue during a private meeting , before the beginning of the High Level Cooperation Council in Ankara.
Turkish diplomatic sources are quoted by Turkish media as saying that during the meeting the Russian side stated that negotiations on the Cyprus issue must resume soon.
According to the same sources, the two ministers discussed the visit of Russian Foreign Minister to Turkey in 2015.
They also discussed bilateral relations, economic and trade relations, tourism issues as well as the next meeting of the G20, which will be held in Antalya in 2015, with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades decided in October to suspend his participation in the UN-backed negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem, after Turkish seismic exploration vessel Barbaros entered Cyprus` exclusive economic zone, a few days after Turkey had issued an illegal maritime order (NAVTEX) for the area.