💢 Key points from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s press conference following talks with Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas:

• Iran: Moscow is seeking a diplomatic outcome to the confrontation between Iran and the US and Israel, which Lavrov said is having an “extremely negative” impact on the global economy. He pointed to mediation efforts by Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

• NATO/Russia: Asked about NATO contingency planning involving Russia, Lavrov noted that Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker had previously assured Moscow that the alliance has no plans to attack Russia. Moscow nevertheless “keeps its ears open,” he said, citing NATO’s expanding military presence in East, Southeast and Northeast Asia.

• Kaliningrad: Lavrov recalled Putin’s warning that an attack on Kaliningrad or any other Russian region would receive the same response. He also rejected NATO’s repeated characterization of itself as purely defensive, citing Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya.

• Afghanistan/Pakistan: The failure to agree a final document at the Moscow Format meeting was “unpleasant,” but “not a tragedy.” Lavrov said both Kabul and Islamabad are interested in normalization, while again blaming Western interventions in Iraq and Libya for the emergence and spread of jihadist groups.

• Asia-Pacific: Lavrov said ASEAN’s central role is being tested by closed-format “troikas” and “quads” promoted by the US, European states, Australia and Japan, contrasting these with ASEAN’s consensus-based, inclusive model.

• Ukraine: Any durable settlement must address what Moscow describes as the conflict’s “well-known root causes.”

• Russia-Timor-Leste: The sides agreed to explore investment projects in energy, mining, fisheries and tourism, with Russia also offering to expand energy supplies.

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