EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will make her first official visit to Russia this month, with relations strained to breaking point by the Ukraine conflict and the war in Syria.
She will also visit China and India next week, her office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The announcement of the trip comes just as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Moscow for talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to confront Russia over its support for the Assad government.
Mogherini will also meet Lavrov to “discuss the most pressing foreign policy issues, in particular the conflict in Syria,” the statement from her office said.
They will also discuss the situation in Libya, the Middle East peace process, Iran, Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as EU-Russia ties.