From March 8 – 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov toured the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar to discuss regional andinternational issues.
The tour began with the UAE, where Lavrov met the Crown Prince and de factoruler Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; the country’s Foreign Minister Abdullahbin Zayed Al Nahyan and National Security Advisor Tahnoun bin Zayed AlNahyan.
UAE authorities made exceptions for the Russian delegation where it wasreceived in the Abu Dhabi emirate, although it is mostly closed for visitsdue to the coronavirus pandemic.
The delegation was also freed from an obligatory 10-day quarantine.However, Lavrov and the delegation had to take PCR tests before meeting thecrown prince.
At a news conference, following the meeting, Russian and UAE ministerspraised bilateral relation developments, confirmed “the overlapping orsimilar approaches” to the crises in the Middle East and promised tocontinue “close coordination” in Syria, Libya and Yemen.
The UAE foreign minister surprised journalists by saying US sanctions werethe main obstacle for restoring dialogue with Syria. He also spoke in favorof Syria’s return to the Arab League and its reconciliation with regionalArab countries, which was considered a compliment to Russia, that hasconsistently urged the lifting of sanctions on Syria and for its return “tothe Arab family.”
On Israel, Lavrov once again welcomed its normalization with Arab states,including with the UAE. However, he stressed that “a fair settlement of thePalestinian problem must not be relegated to the background.”
Lavrov then turned to Iran and encouraged Arab countries to talk withTehran, saying “promotion, trust and transparency in military construction”will strengthen the region’s security.
Lavrov’s efforts to push Arab countries to better relations with Iran mayhave a deeper meaning than a simple desire to contribute to regionalsecurity, taking into account a recent statement by US President Joe Bidenwho said he was willing to return to the Iran nuclear deal.
Steps in this direction demand Washington’s coordination with its Araballies and being that the UAE is the only regional player having contactswith Iran, Russia can ask for the UAE’s help in softening otherstakeholders’ stance.
Lavrov also had an unplanned meeting with Lebanon’s former Prime MinisterSaad Hariri, who has been trying to form a Cabinet since the deadly 2020Beirut explosions.
So far, France was the main mediator between Lebanese sides without muchsuccess. The situation in the country has been deteriorating, and Haririseems to be in need of any help he can find. Lavrov stressed many timesthat Moscow has good relations with all Lebanese sides, besides, Russia canalso put in a good word for Hariri with Iran and the Arab countries, astheir position counts in the issue of forming Lebanon’s government.
*Visit to Riyadh*
Read Top Stories
Lavrov’s visit to Riyadh was the shortest. He spent less than a day in theSaudi capital and had two meetings — with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanand Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
Lavrov became the first foreign top diplomat, to arrive in Saudi Arabiaafter the US put responsibility for journalist Jemal Khashoggi’s murderdirectly on bin Salman.
It is unlikely that Lavrov’s visit had anything to do with the USannouncement because his visit to the kingdom was planned in advance,however, Russia “morally supports” Saudi Arabia for the second time in thecase — in 2018 Putin was meeting with bin Salman at the G20 summit inBuenos Aires right after media leaks claimed the prince was directlyinvolved in Khashoggi’s killing.
Speaking at a news conference, following the meeting with his Saudicounterpart, Lavrov noted that despite the coronavirus pandemic the tradeturnover between Russia and Saudi Arabia grew to almost $1.7 billion.
He also said the two ministers discussed the organization of holding thethird stage of clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine in Saudi Arabia aswell as its production in the country and reconfirmed willingness tocontinue cooperation and coordinate efforts on the global oil markets,including within the OPEC+ format.
As for prospects, Lavrov said there was “considerable potential forimplementing forward-looking projects in space exploration and nuclearenergy.”
Speaking about regional affairs, Lavrov said Russia was ready “to providethe necessary assistance” to reach “long-term normalization in the region,”meaning possible improvement of ties with Iran but the Saudi foreignminister made it clear that the kingdom’s position on Iran remainedunchanged, accusing it of pushing Yemeni rebels to attacks Saudi Arabia.
Lavrov refrained from blaming either side in Yemen, saying “all have toadhere to the international law.”
Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud took a restrained position on the Syriansettlement, though he said that Syria has to return “to the Arab embraceand achieve stability and security.”
Lavrov’s comment on Syria was short as well, neither of the ministersmentioned the visit of the Russian presidential envoy for Syria to Riyadhthe day before, who was said to be seeking Saudi’s support in dealing withthe Syrian opposition. – Anadolu Agency
