Sergei Lavrov told a news conference following his meeting in Vienna with representatives of the trio of Britain, France and Germany, and Austria, which currently holds the EU rotating presidency, that the sides were considering specific aid projects for Chechnya.
"We are thankful to the EU for the help it has offered in rebuilding Chechnya," Lavrov said.
The sides also discussed a law on NGOs, which provoked severe criticism from Russian human rights groups and the West for substantially restricting the work of these organizations in Russia.
After several redrafts, the bill was passed by parliament late last year. Lavrov said the final version took into account recommendations from the Council of Europe, the EU, and representatives of Russian NGOs and the Public Chamber, a body set up as a bridge between the public and the authorities.
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said the EU's concerns had been expressed at the meeting over the restrictive conditions imposed on the work of NGOs in Russia.
Foreign-funded NGOs are thought to have played a major role in the revolutions that have swept former Soviet states in recent years, prompting some Russian politicians to voice concerns that similar activity was being carried out in Russia. The West largely saw the law as a Kremlin tactic to tighten control over foreign activity in the country and restrict democratic freedoms.
