Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks ahead of the talks with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, October 9, 2023
9 October 2023 13:30
1980-09-10-2023
Mr Secretary-General,
Dear Ahmed,
Friends,
We are glad to welcome you in Moscow.
We appreciate our interaction with the League of Arab States. Official relations go back 20 years. On September 23, 2003, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the General Secretariat.
Today we plan to discuss all aspects of our interaction, including upcoming meetings between Russia and the Arab League members at the ministerial level.
Of course, a sharp and unprecedented turn in the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation has occurred, which once again reaffirms that the current status quo in the conflict zone is unviable and requires adjustments to our agenda.
It is necessary not only to urgently stop the fighting and resolve the problems related to the civilians, who are victims in the current situation, and in large numbers, but also to focus on the reasons for the lack of a solution to the Palestinian problem for so many decades even though there are direct and unambiguous resolutions by the UN Security Council on this matter, agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, including those signed in Oslo and Madrid, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.
I am confident that Russia and the Arab League - all members of this organisation - can and must contribute to addressing the problems, first of all, to stopping the bloodshed and the sufferings of civilians. We are ready to do this together with you and with all other countries that are sincerely interested in establishing sustainable peace in the Middle East and ensuring the security of all countries in the region without exception, including the state of Palestine, the creation of which is required by the UN Security Council resolution I mentioned.
In connection with what is happening, this visit takes on a special relevance. We will be interested in hearing your assessments and ideas.
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