🇷🇺🇧🇭 On June 11, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani held talks in Moscow.

The Foreign Ministers thoroughly discussed current issues related to the further development of friendly Russia-Bahrain ties. They spoke in favour of maintaining regular political dialogue and intensifying delegation exchanges.

They emphasised the need to strengthen diverse trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. In this context, they noted the important coordinating role of the Intergovernmental Russian-Bahraini Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

🤝 The Ministers held a thorough exchange of views on the key issues on the international agenda, on most of which Moscow and Manama hold similar or identical stances. They reaffirmed their mutual commitment to continuing close contacts at multilateral venues, primarily at the #UN, including in light of Bahrain’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council starting this January.

They underscored the continued relevance of joint work within the Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue, which has proved to be an effective mechanism for exchanging views on key global and regional issues.

Special attention was paid to the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the escalation around Iran. The Ministers stressed that there is no alternative to launching a full-fledged political and diplomatic process aimed at resolving the crisis while unconditionally ensuring the interests of all states in the region.

☝️ Sergey Lavrov noted that Russia consistently calls on the parties involved to refrain from steps that could lead to a resumption of a large-scale war and derail ongoing efforts to overcome differences. He reaffirmed Russia’s firm support for Bahrain and other Arab countries in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stressed that strikes on civilian infrastructure facilities located on their territory are categorically unacceptable.

The Foreign Ministers also emphasised the importance of swiftly restoring stable, unhindered and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is of critical importance to the global economy. They also exchanged views on Russia’s updated Concept for Collective Security in the Persian Gulf.

Discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Ministers focused on the need for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, large-scale humanitarian supplies and the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave devastated by hostilities. They reaffirmed the need for the earliest possible normalisation of the situation in the West Bank.

The Ministers noted that Russia and Bahrain share approaches in favour of a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue on the well-known international legal basis, which provides for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine coexisting in peace and security with Israel.

Sergey Lavrov briefed his Bahraini counterpart in detail on Russia’s principled approaches to settling the conflict around Ukraine.

#RussiaBahrain