ISTANBUL / MOSCOW

Russia’s top diplomat on Thursday expressed hope in resuming the work of an intergovernmental commission with Colombia, as his counterpart from the South American country visits Moscow.

“We want to deepen our trade, economic and commercial ties. To this end, we hope that next year we will be able to resume the work of the intergovernmental bilateral commission on trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation,” Sergey Lavrov said in his opening remarks in a meeting with Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo.

Describing Colombia as a long-standing partner, Lavrov said Russia values the presence of regular contacts between both foreign ministries and parliamentarians.

Lavrov said Moscow and Bogota also have close educational ties, adding: “Today is a good opportunity to discuss our bilateral affairs and cooperation in the international arena."

He said bilateral cultural and humanitarian contacts are valuable, and congratulated Colombia for its election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term.

For his part, Murillo said Columbia wants to change its global image such that members of the global community see it as a country promoting peace.

In this regard, he added, authorities started from Columbia itself and engaged in talks with rebel groups, including the National Liberation Army.

A statement after the talks said the two diplomats also discussed key international topics including the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.

"Plans were outlined for further deepening cooperation on international platforms. Russia's readiness to continue to contribute to international efforts coordinated by the UN Security Council to promote peacebuilding in Colombia was confirmed," it said.

Murillo is in Moscow on a three-day visit until Friday.