(VOVworld) – Russia is ready to work with the Western coalition fighting the Islamic State if coalition members respect Syria’s sovereignty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

FM Sergei Lavrov says Russia is ready for practical cooperation with those countries which are part of the coalition. (Photo courtesy: RUSSIANPLANES.NET)

Lavrov said in an interview with the Radio of Russia that Russia is ready for practical cooperation with those countries which are part of the coalition and is ready to develop with them forms of coordination that respect Syria’s sovereignty and the prerogatives of the Syrian leadership.”

Lavrov will pay a visit to Turkey next Wednesday to attend the fifth meeting of the Russia-Turkey joint strategic planning group to discuss the situation in Syria, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of general staff, held an hour talk with his French counterpart Pierre de Villiers on combating IS in Syria. This was the first contact between military leaders of the two nations since the start of the Ukraine conflict last year.