Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with heads of diplomatic missions of the Arab States

On May 30, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with the heads of the diplomatic missions of Arab countries accredited in Moscow.

The participants engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on the developments in the Middle East with a focus on an unprecedented escalation in the area of Palestinian-Israeli confrontation which has led to immeasurable suffering of the Gaza Strip civilians.

Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed the continuity and consistency of Russia’s foreign policy to comprehensively expand partner-like and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Arab countries. He pointed out that Russia condemns terrorism in its every form and manifestation, and Russian diplomacy has, since the first days of the crisis, been pushing for putting an end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, freeing the detainees, ensuring uninterrupted shipments of humanitarian aid to the people in need and re-directing the armed conflict onto a political and diplomatic track. Russia has invariably operated on the premise that talks between the Palestinians and Israelis should be aligned in accordance with the existing international legal framework, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 and the two-state principle with the creation of a sovereign Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital that would co-exist with Israel in peace and security.

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that putting forward various peace concepts and expanding the circle of countries that have recognised the State of Palestine testify to the strengthening position of the Global Majority in favour of an early and fair solution to the Palestinian problem as the main prerequisite for long-term stabilisation in the Middle East. In this context, it is important to align the approaches and peacekeeping plans of the players involved in the Middle East settlement in order to create proper conditions for starting direct Palestinian-Israeli talks concerning a set of final status issues. Russia’s proposal to hold a consultative meeting of the stakeholder parties at the ministerial level is designed to achieve this goal. At the same time, the countries of the region, the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should play the key role in promoting the peace process in the Middle East. In this context, Sergey Lavrov praised the outcomes of the LAS summit held in Manama on May 16, which re-affirmed a consolidated position in favour of an early political settlement of regional crises and conflicts.

The representatives from the Arab States expressed their gratitude for Russia’s energetic efforts, including in the UN Security Council, aimed at ending the bloodshed in the area of Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, delivering humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip and comprehensively normalising the situation in the Middle East. Sergey Lavrov and the ambassadors from the Arab countries reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of Moscow and the capitals of the LAS member states to further coordinate the steps designed to establish a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East based on the principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter.