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Moscow supports Beirut’s efforts on normalizing situation in country, top diplomat says

Sergey Lavrov also emphasized that he intended to discuss the state of bilateral relations between Moscow and Beirut with his Lebanese colleague in detail

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Russia supports the actions of Lebanon’s new government on stabilizing the situation in the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, opening talks with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday.

"We have long-standing friendly relations with Lebanon, with Lebanese people. Today we would like for the current visit to allow us to hear your evaluations of events in the country. We support the efforts on normalizing the situation which for a long time has been of a rather crisis-ridden nature. And we support, as I’ve already said, the actions of the new government. Its formation in itself became an important step on the path to stabilization," the Russian top diplomat said.

The Russian foreign minister also congratulated his counterpart on Lebanese Independence Day which is marked on November 22. In relation to that, he reiterated that Russia was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the Lebanese Republic and to establish diplomatic relations with it. "Your visit is connected to another remarkable date - you turned 80 yesterday. I would like to sincerely congratulate you on that," he added.

The Russian top diplomat also emphasized that he intended to discuss the state of bilateral relations between Moscow and Beirut with his Lebanese colleague in detail. "We are interested in a gradual development. And I am confident that positive results which, as we hope, will be reached along this path, will also help the situation in the country," he pointed out.

According to Lavrov, regional issues and the international situation in general will become another important element of the talks’ agenda. "Your evaluations of the development of the situation in your region will be important to us. And what the international community can additionally do in order to resolve numerous problems accumulated here," he added.

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