MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Friday with his Romanian counterpart Cristian Diaconescu to discuss economic cooperation.

"We are especially interested in developing further our trade and economic cooperation, which, certainly, will be the driving force for the entire range of our relations," Lavrov said.

Diaconescu said Romania had several economic priorities in its relations with Russia, such as boosting the country's presence in the Russian economy and supporting a number of projects on the Russian market.

Trade between Russia and Romania stood at $5.9 billion in 2008.