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Russian, Lebanese foreign ministers to discuss situation in Middle East, Ukraine, Syria

MOSCOW, April 24. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil will discuss bilateral relations at a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, as well as the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine and Syria.

"Russia invariably comes out in support of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon, non-interference in its internal affairs," a Russian Foreign Ministry official said. "We are convinced that it is essential to maintain regular contacts with the country's all political forces that represent various segments of multiform Lebanese society, for the purposes of preserving interconfessional and civil peace in the Lebanese Republic and solving issues on the national agenda through dialogue".

He underlined that "Moscow resolutely condemns any attempts at destabilizing the situation in Lebanon."

During a discussion of the situation in Syria, the parties will consider the possibility of an earliest settlement of the crisis by the Syrians themselves within the framework of the negotiating process, which was launched at the International Conference on Syria ("Geneva-2") on the strength of implementation of the Geneva Communique dated June 30, 2012.

The diplomats will have a detailed exchange of views on the key problem of the Middle East the Palestinian issue which still remains topical and acute. Attention will be focused on the tasks of advancing a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem on the basis of the existing international legal basis.

In discussing the whole range of bilateral relations, the diplomats will focus on firming coordination in the international arena, supporting an active political dialogue and further development of mutually advantageous trade and economic cooperation, and cultural and religious ties."

The programme of the Lebanese minister's visit to Moscow envisions his meeting with Alexei Pushkov, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma lower house of the Russian parliament.

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