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BAKU – The Russian and French foreign and defense ministers will gather in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss ways of settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, along with the situation in Libya and Syria, missile defense and other issues, Russian state news agency Itar-Tass reported.

Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Alain Juppe, and Defense Ministers Anatoly Serdyukov and Gerard Longuet will meet on the sidelines of the bilateral Security Cooperation Council.

In light of cooperation between Moscow and Paris in the United Nations and the Security Council, the sides will discuss pan-European cooperation with a focus on the Russian president’s initiative to sign a legally binding European security treaty, missile defense and Russia’s partnership with the EU and NATO, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Monday.

The ministers will also touch upon the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.

"Escalation of tensions in the region has raised many questions," Lukashevich said. "In the dialogue with the French partners it is important to clarify what our countries, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, are ready to offer jointly to the international community as the best recipe for the resolution of such crises."

Iranian and North Korean nuclear activities will also be discussed. "Russia and France have largely identical positions on these issues. However, there are certain discrepancies. And we are interested to clarify where our interests differ, especially in light of the upcoming discussions at the 66th session of the UN General Assembly,’ Lukashevich said.

The parties will also discuss Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Lukashevich said Moscow believes that "progress in this process is expected by the international community, and we hope to outline our coordinated actions in contact with our French partners". The foreign and defense ministers will synchronize their approaches towards the peace process in Afghanistan, and consider ways to settle the situation in Kosovo, Transdniestria and Nagorno Karabakh.

The Russian-French Security Cooperation Council was established in 2002 by the heads of state, and its meetings are held once or twice a year.