MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov will hold talks in Moscow on August 25 with Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for international affairs, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"From August 24 to 28, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See and the Vatican's foreign minister, will pay a working visit to Russia. His talks with our country's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled for August 25. The meeting will include an exchange of views on the current state and prospects of bilateral cooperation between Russia and the Vatican, as well as interaction at multilateral forums," she said.

The sides will also address international issues of mutual interest, Zakharova noted.

Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin has no meeting with the Vatican official scheduled so far.