Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, according to a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid. The two FMs also discussed developments in the Syrian conflict, with Lavrov presenting his country's assessment of the Syrian talks and the outcomes of the Sochi Conference. They also discussed developments in the Palestinian issue and coordinating international efforts to encourage the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Shoukry also expressed Egypt's keenness to continue building upon the positive developments in bilateral ties the two countries witnessed in 2017, including Shoukry's visit to Moscow in August and Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Cairo in December. The two ministers also expressed their wish to see the return of Russian direct flights and tourism soon to Egypt, which has traditionally been a top destination for Russian tourists.
