Nicosia (AFP) - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he was willing to meet his Turkish counterpart this week for the two countries' first high-level face-to-face talks since Ankara shot down one of Moscow's warplanes.

Lavrov said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was "insisting" on holding talks on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade on Thursday and Friday and that he would "not be evading this contact", adding "we will hear what Mr. Cavusoglu has to say."