OREANDA-NEWS. May 06, 2010. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, met on May 5 with the League of Arab States (LAS) member countries’ ambassadors accredited to Moscow and with the head of the LAS representation office in Moscow.

A thorough exchange of views took place on topical issues of the international and regional agenda. Particular attention was devoted to the state of affairs in the Middle Eastern region. The heads of the Arab diplomatic missions commended the strenuous efforts of Russia to promote a just and comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and other hotbeds of tension in the Near and Middle East.

When discussing the possibilities of reviving the Middle East peace process, participants noted the shared principled positions of Russia and the LAS in support of efforts to launch and advance Palestinian- Israeli talks on a universally recognized international legal basis, in accordance with the line agreed to at the Ministerial Quartet Meeting held in Moscow on March 19.

In light of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that has opened in New York, Foreign Minister Lavrov gave a detailed explanation of Russia’s approaches to dialogue on the implementation of the resolution of the 1995 NPT Review Conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

Upon interlocutors’ request the Minister set out our vision of how the situation around Iran’s nuclear program (INP) is evolving. Emphasis was placed on the fact that international action in this matter should proceed from the imperative of maintaining and expanding cooperation by Iran with the IAEA, as well as from the necessity to continue political dialogue with Tehran. It was generally felt that there is no alternative but to solve the INP problem by politico-diplomatic methods and avoid regionally disastrous military options.

In relation to the current tensions around Iran, the increased urgency of the concept put forward by Russia in 2007 for providing security in the Persian Gulf on a collective basis with the participation of all regional and other interested parties was noted.

Participants stressed their mutual interest in further intensifying cooperation between Russia and the LAS member states in order to strengthen peace, security and stability and resolve the burning problems of the Middle East and North Africa. Much of the discussion included an exchange of views on ways to further enhance the commercial, economic, investment, scientific, technological, humanitarian and cultural cooperation. The Arab ambassadors emphasized the desire of their countries to fully utilize the existing potential for rapid progress in all these areas.

In this context, the meeting noted the importance of the Memorandum signed in December 2009 establishing a Russian-Arab Forum and of consultations on the formation of a Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council strategic dialogue system, designed to establish long-term partnership arrangements in different areas.