Earlier in the day, Koenders met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the Munich Security Conference.
"The foreign ministers of the two countries discussed the issues of relations of Russia and the European Union in the context of the Netherlands presiding in the European Council in the first half of 2016. Current issues of bilateral and international agenda were also discussed. [The sides] reached an agreement on B. Koenders’ visit to Moscow this spring," the Russian ministry said in a statement.
Relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated in 2014 after Crimea became a part of Russia and Moscow was accused of involvement in the escalation of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. The West imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking and defense sectors.
The EU economic sanctions against Russia, prolonged several times since their introduction two years ago, are due to expire on July 31, 2016.
