Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks at a meeting with Foreign Minister of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Moscow, July 10, 2023

We are happy to welcome you to Moscow.

We appreciate your visit as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council. This is a convenient format, especially in these troubled times. I believe that it is important that we discuss a large number of issues because due to the activity of some of our colleagues, many priority issues have gone by the wayside. It is being done for reasons that are in no way connected to issues of the Middle East, but we do not want to forget about them. The West constantly tries to bring Ukraine up in any discussion. They explain it that they allegedly need to defeat Russia because this will determine which country will dominate in the world in the future.

We respect Kuwait’s weighed and responsible approach towards the attempts to present the situation as a global catastrophe in comparison to which no other issue matters. I believe that this is unfair to the decades-old issues of the Middle East and North Africa (the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the issues of Iraq, Libya and Syria). I hope that during the meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, we will discuss ways to resolve these issues and exchange opinions on the most efficient way to join our efforts to adopt just decisions in accordance with UN resolutions.

During the meeting, we will also be able to discuss bilateral issues. I am happy to see that there is progress. It is necessary to pay special attention to economic and trade ties between our countries which have been declining due to the pandemic and other problems. I am confident that the intergovernmental commission will reach a consensus. These meetings were not convened during the coronavirus restrictions. The parties are currently working on the next meeting. We should support them in every way.

We are united by relations in many areas, including culture. On our part, we would like to support and develop them in every possible way.