Moscow, December 5, 2017: Natalia Gherman, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG), Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) visited the Russian Federation for consultations related to the activities of the Center. 

SRSG Gherman held meetings with S. Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, G. Karasin, State Secretary-Deputy Foreign Minister, and Z. Kabulov, Special Envoy of the President of Russia for Afghanistan. During the meetings, the sides exchanged views on current developments in Central Asia as well as on the Centre’s efforts to enhance regional cooperation, including in countering existing threats to security and stability in the region.  

SRSG Gherman also met with S. Lebedev, Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Yu. Khachaturov, Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to discuss further cooperation between the UNRCCA and these organizations aimed at prioritizing preventive diplomacy in Central Asia.

Interlocutors also touched upon the issues related to the situation in Northern Afghanistan, which impacts Central Asia, and discussed prospects of cooperation with the countries of the region.