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Sergei Lavrov to meet with his counterparts from Qatar, US, Saudi Arabia in Doha

The Russian minister will also discuss with Qatari leaders issues of peaceful settlement in Syria, Yemen and Libya

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

DOHA, August 3. /TASS/. Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has arrived on a working visit to Qatar, on Monday 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 counterparts from the United States and Saudi Arabia, John Kerry and Adil Al-Jubayr.

A source in the Russian delegation told TASS that the Russian foreign minister would also meet with former President of National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Ahmad Mouaz al-Khatib and Hamas’ political leader Khaled Meshaal. Apart from that, he is likely to have talks with his counterparts from Oman and Kuwait.

Moscow sees Qatar as one of its 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 will also 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 efforts to enhance 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.

Other issues to be raised at talks in Qatar will include further step to improve the legal framework of 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.

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