MOSCOW, February 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia and Egypt exchanged views on international relations, including regional issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the 2+2 meeting on Thursday.
“We believe that all problems in the Middle East and North Africa should be solved exclusively by peaceful means, by inclusive dialogue and without the attempts to isolate anyone or impose anything from outside. All problems should be solved based on the mutual respect and the people’s right to choose a form and methods of state government at their own,” the Russian minister said.
“Special attention was paid to the Syrian problem. We stressed the need to achieve the political settlement of the conflict and cease any violence within the inter-Syrian dialogue in Geneva based on the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012. Russia upholds Egypt’s constructive position in this aspect,” Lavrov said.
The meeting also focused on the Arab-Israeli settlement. Lavrov stressed “the commitment to settling the conflict by direct talks, which continue between Palestine and Israel”, Lavrov said.
“We considered the situation in Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Iraq. We discussed other aspects of the regional agenda, including the efforts to continue the work on preparing and convening a conference to create a zone free of weapons of mass destruction,” the Russian minister said.
“All aspects of our discussions are recorded in a joint statement, which will be made public shortly,” Lavrov said.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the 2+2 meeting. He said they “confirmed that regular consultations were indispensable in order to compare our approaches and determine the chances to maintain mutually useful cooperation for developing bilateral relations and contributing to resolving key problems in the Middle East region”.