The establishment of a high-level Barents Sea regional forum will make it possible to find innovative forms of cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told in an interview to the International Barents Secretariat website, TASS reported.

He recalled that Russia, which presides in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC), suggested establishing a high-level regional forum, a kind of a "Barents Davos," as a permanent discussion club involving representatives of political, business and academic circles and journalists for reviewing the entire regional agenda. "I am confident that work in this format could make a useful contribution to the search for innovative cooperation options, including the drafting of cooperation road maps," Lavrov noted.

"This is certainly a large-scale task that can only be accomplished through a cooperative effort," he emphasised.

Moscow has suggested establishing a youth forum that would encompass the national, regional and municipal levels, he said. "This is an important investment in the future of our cooperation. It is important that young people from our countries be able to regularly communicate with each other and jointly discuss topical regional issues," the minister noted.