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Lavrov to discuss fight against Islamic State with Qatari, Saudi, US colleagues

The Russian-Qatari talks will largely focus on issue of strengthening stability in the Persian Gulf zone

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov begins a working visit to Qatar on Sunday (which will run until August 3).

In Doha, Lavrov will be received by Emir of the State of Qatar - Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, will hold talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed al-Attiyah. The Russian minister will also hold a trilateral meeting with colleagues from the United State and Saudi Arabia - John Kerry and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.

Moscow says that Qatar is one of Russia’s leading partners in the Gulf region. "Our two countries maintain a trust-based dialogue on a wide range of issues of the regional and international agenda," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian minister plans to discuss with Qatari leaders issues of peaceful settlement in Syria, Yemen and Libya, "with an emphasis on the task of consolidating the international community’s efforts in finding mutually acceptable solutions to their continuing acute military and political crises, including an effective coordinated fight against the universal terrorist threat represented by the Islamic State (IS) group, Al-Qaeda and similar extremist groups."

The Russian-Qatari talks will largely focus on issue of strengthening stability in the Persian Gulf zone. In this context, the Russian side will once again draw Qatar’s attention to the concept of creating a collective security system in this strategically important region of the world that Moscow has been actively promoting in the past few years.

"Iran’s role and place in regional affairs after making a deal in Vienna on Iran’s nuclear programme between Iran and the six international mediators (five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany) will be considered in detail," the ministry said.

During talks with Qatari partners it is planned to consider issues of further improvement of the international treaty framework of the bilateral relations, including the ongoing work on the Russian-Qatari intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy, as well as a number of interdepartmental documents.

The sides also plan to discuss issues related to the exchange of experience in the preparation of the FIFA World Cup events, which Russia and Qatar will host respectively in 2018 and 2022.