MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. The Russian side is prepared to resume the practice of political consultations with the Vatican at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after his meeting on Tuesday with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Paul Richard Gallagher.

"We have informed Mr. Gallagher of Russia’s readiness to resume the practice of holding political consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers and resume inter-ministerial targeted consultations on specific issues at the expert level," Lavrov told journalists.

"Gallagher last visited Moscow in November 2021. His current trip to Moscow was preceded by a visit to Ukraine in July. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a meeting between the Secretary of the Holy See and President Vladimir Putin was not scheduled.