Meeting between the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and ambassadors of Arab countries
PRESS RELEASE
On 16 September, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov conducted a traditional meeting with accredited heads of diplomatic missions of Arab countries and the representation office of the League of Arab States (LAS). They substantially exchanged opinions on topical international and regional issues, as well as prospects of further development and strengthening of the Russian-Arab cooperation.
Special attention was focussed on the transformation processes experienced by countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with the tasks of defusing the most acute conflicts in the region. To that end, Sergey Lavrov confirmed Russia's principled position in support of legal aspirations for a better life for Arab peoples: he was in favour of resolving the emerged internal problems by peaceful means, with far-reaching dialogue and on the basis of the consent of society, without external interference. In this context, there was highlighted the need to find agreed compromises in order to overcome crisis situations in countries of the region.
Participants at the meeting confirmed the unanimous existence of the principled positions of Russia and Arab countries in support of national aspirations of the Palestinian people and the achievement of a fair and stable Palestine-Israel Peace Process within a widely acknowledged international legal framework.
The problem of Iran's nuclear programme and the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and means of their supply in the Middle East, was touched upon.
A mutual disposition for consistent strengthening and expansion of cooperation between Russia and Arab countries (including in the multilateral format) was mentioned. To that end, there was highlighted an interest in the development of interaction within the framework of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum and the strategic dialogue between Russia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, in the vein of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other influential regional associations.
16 September 2013