Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions at a joint news conference with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi following the third session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum, Moscow, February 26, 2016

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we held the third session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum that was established in 2009. 

We endorsed a detailed statement that will be published and a plan of action to implement the principles, goals and tasks of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in 2016-2018. In these documents we set forth the joint approaches of Russia and the Arab League to the most urgent international issues, primarily, the crises in the Middle East and North Africa.

We paid special attention to international terrorism. We share the view that we should conduct an uncompromising struggle against this absolute evil through military action, in part, by shutting down the channels that fund the Islamic State and other terrorists, and fight against the dissemination of extremist and terrorist ideology.

Our statement supports the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin on forming a broad anti-terrorist front based on international law and under UN aegis. We welcome the anti-terrorist efforts of the CSTO, CIS and SCO and the measures undertaken by the Arab League to counter anti-terrorist propaganda and prevent conditions that allow terrorism to take root in more countries.

The statement notes the efforts taken by Egypt, the UAE, Algeria, Bahrain and other countries in the region to combat terrorist ideology. We believe this is a very important area for our further collaboration, among other things, within the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group that was created as part of our interaction with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

We addressed concrete crises and conflicts in the region but did so on the basis of general principles such as the recognition of the right of peoples to determine their own fate and the fate of their countries, the inadmissibility of outside interference in internal political processes and respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states of the region.

From this perspective, we considered the efforts of the international community, including Russia and countries of the Arab world, to facilitate the resolution of the crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya and to normalise the situation in Iraq, Somalia and other countries of the region.

All the three participants in today’s news conference are members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). Today we reaffirmed our commitment to all the agreements that were achieved within the framework of what is known as the Vienna Group and the UN Security Council. We reaffirmed support for the Russian-US initiative on the cessation of hostilities as of midnight (Damascus time) tomorrow.

For all the gravity and intensity of the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya and other countries in the region, our statement focuses on the need to ensure the early resumption efforts to bring about a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It reaffirms our position that efforts within the quartet of international mediators should be revitalized. The Russian side reiterated the importance of establishing close daily interaction between the quartet and the Arab League. This is all the more essential considering that the Arab Peace Initiative, alongside the corresponding UN Security Council resolutions, provides a clear and unambiguous framework for a lasting, stable and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and in a broader sense, the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Arab Peace Initiative should serve as a foundation for restoring Palestinian unity. Russia is actively facilitating agreements between Fatah and Hamas. Many Arab countries have been working towards this end. At one time, Egypt was closely involved in this, as Qatar is now. We also agreed to collaborate in this area.

Russia also reaffirmed its adherence to all resolutions of the international community that aim to create a WMD-free zone in the Middle East. We are in close contact with all interested parties and will continue our efforts to get the process off the ground as soon as possible.

Today we also reaffirmed our readiness to continue our course toward assisting our Arab friends in normalising relations between them and Iran. We consider this goal very important in and of itself, but its achievement would be conducive to progress in settling various other regional crises, including the crises in Syria and Yemen. This is the objective of our well-known security concept for the Persian Gulf. We will continue to promote corresponding initiatives in the hope that an essential critical mass will coalesce for a substantive dialogue on all these issues.

Question: What specific results have been achieved since the Russian-Arab Forum was established?

Sergey Lavrov: Perhaps it’s important to hear not only our view but also the views of our Arab friends. I believe they are basically similar. We take a positive view on the way this essential mechanism is developing. Today, when the Middle East and North Africa are literally boiling, overwhelmed by crises, and the potential for conflict there, unfortunately, is not declining, regular dialogue is vital. We maintain this dialogue on various levels. There is an agreement between foreign ministers to meat at least annually and there is a working mechanism for meetings between senior officials (as a rule, directors of departments). Today, we agreed to make this mechanism regular, with its participants meeting at least once every six months. All of this allows us to make our political dialogue with the Arab League more systematic and plan the agenda in advance, and not only in the context of abstract academic discourse but also with an eye to a specific objective and the practical coordination of actions in various international formats.

Trade, economic and investment ties are another area where concrete results are evident. In addition to the appreciable, steady growth in the scope of bilateral interaction in this area, we also have a multilateral mechanism – the Russian-Arab Business Council. It’s a useful umbrella structure for forums of business people from Russia and countries from the region.

Our country has long-standing good historical ties with all Arab League countries that go back to the middle of the past century. People-to-people contact is very important in our relations today. As my colleagues said, we seek to reflect our people’s mutual interests in our forum’s activities. In particular, humanitarian and cultural ties will encourage us to create frameworks to facilitate this kind of contact. We supported the idea of our Arab friends related to the creation of a centre of Arab science and culture in Moscow. I’m sure that this will help expand humanitarian and educational exchanges. We are interested in promoting tourism and are willing to move even further in liberalising visa regimes that have already been facilitated in our relations with many countries in the region.

The Russian-Arab Forum is a useful panel. The fact that we are seeing this kind of presence at the ministerial level speaks for itself.

Question: In the context of the ceasefire, how important is it now to restore the political process for Syrian opposition and government delegations to return to Geneva on March 7?

Sergey Lavrov: The creation of the International Syria Support Group, also known as Vienna Group, took the international community’s efforts to promote a Syria settlement to a new level. The Vienna Group was supported by the UN Security Council that adopted Resolution 2254, outlining three priority areas of activity: easing the humanitarian situation in Syria, agreeing on ceasefire terms as soon as possible and launching a real inclusive political process. It was stated unambiguously that efforts in all the three areas should proceed in parallel and that there should not be, nor can there be, any preconditions for political talks.

Significant and generally recognised progress has since been made in delivering humanitarian aid to the people in need, including in areas that have been blocked both by the opposition and by government troops. In keeping with the resolutions of the ISSG Munich meeting, Russia and the United States, as ISSG co-chairs, drew up a document on terms for the cessation of hostilities, which was also well received by the international community and today will be approved by UN Security Council and an ISSG meeting in Geneva. Of course, no one can provide a 100-percent guarantee, but the necessary groundwork is in place to formalise this positive shift and make it irreversible.

The only area within the framework of the Vienna process where no positive changes have been recorded are political talks. This is related to the fact that certain groups of opposing the regime and their sponsors abroad are bargaining for privileged status to secure positions that would give then an advantage over other opposition groups. None of this does them credit. However, now that real progress has been achieved in the humanitarian area and terms for a ceasefire have been agreed upon, this group of “saboteurs” of political talks will have no more excuses for continuing to set preconditions for the start of an intra-Syrian dialogue. Let’s hope that those who have decisive influence on them will draw appropriate conclusions and remove the impediments to the comprehensive, full-scale implementation of the provisions under UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

Question: A ceasefire in Syria will come into effect in a few hours. What is the outlook for it? What groups are willing to join the ceasefire now? Would you agree that the parliamentary elections set by Syria’s President Bashar Assad for April 13 are at odds with UN Security Council Resolution 2254?

Sergey Lavrov: As I said, unfortunately, nobody can provide 100 percent guarantees that the ceasefire agreement will be observed. The agreement was reached and will be approved by the UN Security Council today but this does not mean that it will be automatically fulfilled. Daily efforts are needed to support this agreement and translate it into practical steps on the ground.

Success depends on a number of factors. First, the willingness of all outside players to put the interests of the Syrian people and regional stability above their own neo-imperial and other geopolitical ambitions. This means that all outside players should exert pressure on the forces within Syria that rely on outside support from one side or the other. Such pressure should be applied in the same direction. Everyone is obliged to comply with the ceasefire terms as approved by the UN Security Council. This approval will come later today.

Success in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement will also depend on the international community’s ability to fulfill the earlier resolutions, including Security Council Resolutions 2199 and 2253 to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters into Syria and to suppress illegal trade, particularly oil trade, as a result of which ISIS is receiving substantial financial support. This also requires the establishment of tight controls on Syria’s external borders. The UN Security Council has provided for a mechanism to that effect. It is important that this mechanism honestly and objectively report the facts to the UN Security Council, not hide them, as is sometimes the case. Success will also hinge on the ability of ISSG co-chairs to perform their duties efficiently and without any ambiguities. In particular, there should be no speculation to the effect that Jabhat al-Nusra perhaps need not be immediately excluded from the ceasefire regime.

Within the US-led coalition, there should be no ambiguous talk about some Plan B, preparations for a ground operation or the creation of some buffer no-fly zones that have long been deemed absolutely unacceptable. It is essential to end all attempts within the US-led coalition to speculate on antiterrorist issues. For example, speaking yesterday on issues related to combating ISIS, US President Barack Obama said it is impossible to mobilise the international community for an effective fight against terrorism as long as Syria’s President Bashar Assad is in power. This is completely at odds with all the resolutions to which the United States has subscribed at the UN Security Council and which stipulate that no considerations may be invoked to justify terrorism. Alongside such witting or unwitting justification of terrorism, there are attempts of an opposite kind, so to speak, i.e., to use antiterrorist slogans to justify a course towards direct armed interference in the affairs of sovereign states and to eliminate political opponents at home. As you know, this is precisely what the present Turkish leadership is doing. We agree with the position of the Arab League that issued a strong protest against Turkey’s attempts to interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs. This is not limited to Iraq. Some bloc-related discipline is evidently also required here.

Nevertheless, even before the ceasefire has come into effect, a number of parties to the conflict are declaring their willingness to join it. The Syrian government has already done so. I’m sure that those who are in Syria with arms in hand at the invitation of the legitimate Syrian authorities will also do the same. This has already been done by the Democratic Union Party and other Syrian Kurdish groups, as well as by a number of Syrian opposition groups in the east of the country, including Sunni detachments that have established contact with the Russian military. By the way, information about this has been provided by Russian TV. Participants in Syrian opposition meetings that took place over the past year in Cairo and Moscow supported the ceasefire. I hear that the so-called Supreme Commission for Negotiations, which was formed at opposition meetings in Riyadh, also declared its approval of the ceasefire but unlike all others, did so with a proviso that they will observe it for only two weeks although the Russian-US initiative does not provide for any preconditions or reservations.

Russia is committed to the agreements approved by the Vienna Group and UN Security Council Resolution 2254. They establish a clear-cut timetable for the political process. It starts with negotiations between the Syrian government and the entire spectrum of opponents to the regime. During the first six months the government and all opposition groups should agree on the formation of an executive agency that will draft a new constitution leading to general elections. An 18-month period has been set for the entire political process. This is the schedule that the UN Security Council has urged all parties to the Syria conflict, naturally including the Syrian government, to accept.

Sergey Lavrov (adds after UAE Foreign Minister Zayed Al Nahyan): As you can see, the discussion continues. The issue of whether particular groups are terrorist organisations or not was actively discussed in the ISSG. So far, the only criterion for this is the decision to designate ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and affiliated groups, the way they are defined in Security Council resolutions, as terrorist organisations.

I’d like sincerely to thank our friends from the Arab League for today’s joint work that has allowed us to move forward on a number of important issues and pave the way for more effective collaboration in addressing them.