Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius discussed the situation in the Middle East and bilateral issues at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday. They focused on Syria because of the offensive of the Islamic State militants there, according to the Russian foreign ministry. Both sides emphasized the importance of antiterrorist cooperation. The talks took place on the sidelines of a "Normandy format" meeting where Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine discussed the situation in Ukraine.