MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Joint efforts of Russia and Arab states are vital for quashing terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa and also for establishing peace and security there, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a ministerial session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum on Tuesday.
Russia’s top diplomat stressed that this conference is a vivid example of dynamic development of friendly ties between Russia and the Arab world and bringing them to a new level. "We are convinced that thanks to joint efforts the forum will become an effective tool for expanding and enhancing multifaceted Russian-Arab partnership, a useful platform for discussing international and regional problems," Lavrov said. "Today the discussions will focus on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, including such pressing issues as the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, crises in Syria, Libya, Yemen, anti-terror fight and the tasks of nuclear non-proliferation."
Lavrov expects that during a frank and constructive dialogue the sides will not only exchange views but also come to terms on the ways of settling problems. "The problems are rooted crucially in the never-ending attempts of external meddling in domestic affairs of regional states," he noted. "We believe that our joint efforts are in high demand for stabilizing the challenging situation in the region, for eliminating terrorism and establishing peace and security and creating conditions for the sustainable development of all countries of the Middle East and North Africa."
Russia together with its Arab friends is set to contribute to ironing out numerous conflicts only by political and diplomatic means based on international law and with unconditional respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned, he said. "We strongly reject any attempts of imposing alien values on the nations in the region."