Lavrov, LAS sec-gen to discuss anti-terrorism issues, Syria, Middle East peace process, Qatar situation on July 5 - ministry
MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and League of Arab States (LAS) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit will touch upon cooperation in the war on international terrorism and religious extremism, Syria, the Qatar situation, the Middle East peace process and some other issues at their forthcoming meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"There are plans to have a detailed discussion of the state of affairs in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, as well as the crisis around Qatar, and Palestinian-Israeli settlement issues at the upcoming consultations," Zakharova said at a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
The LAS secretary-general will be visiting Russia on July 4-6; his negotiations with the Russian foreign minister are scheduled for July 5.
"In the context of the ongoing turbulence in security matters, the negotiations are expected to focus on the coordination of steps which are being taken, in particular, in the collective format to suppress international terrorism and religious extremism," Zakharova said.
"Profound consultations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will be held" on July 5, she said. "Our political contacts with the leadership of the LAS, the influential pan-Arab organization, have been lasting and regular. They help exchange opinions on pressing matters of the regional and global agenda in a partner-like and constructive spirit," Zakharova said.
"Moscow appreciates the detailed and meaningful dialogue between Russia and Arab countries, which seeks to continue filling this dialogue with a substantive content," she said.
"The swift transformations in the Middle East and the common nature of global threats and challenges dictate the need to strengthen the interaction between Russia and the League of Arab States in the interests of peace and stability in that region and, of course, the world as a whole," Zakharova said.
