MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — On April 1, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov discussed the prospects of cooperating in the fight against Daesh with senior EU officials — Pedro Serrano, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service, and Gilles de Kerchove, EU Coordinator on anti-terrorism.
"It was indeed a very fruitful discussion, exchanging views and comparing our plans and methods. It was agreed that this dialogue will be continued. They agreed to have a next meeting, but the date has not been set yet," Chizhov said in English.
The envoy added that anti-terrorism is definitely an area where the EU and Russian interests coincide.
"By now the European Union, particularly after the tragic events not only in Brussels, but also those in Paris in November, has come to a conclusion to combine efforts with other countries, including Russia, to combat terrorism," Chizhov said.
On March 9, Europol announced that the terrorist threat in Europe was at its highest level in 10 years with at least 5,000 Europeans believed to have been radicalized and recruited by jihadist militants.
Another series of terrorist attacks were staged across Paris on November 13, 2015, leading to the death of 130 people and injuring over 350 others. The Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks.