MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Issues of the invigoration of international efforts toward an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip were the focus of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, on the sidelines of the BRICS ministerial meeting.

"The ministers discussed current issues of the Middle East agenda with a focus on the continuing scalation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The sides stressed the necessity of the invigoration of international efforts in the interests of the soonest cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and ensuring sustainable humanitarian access in order to deliver necessary assistance to the enclave’s population," the Russian foreign ministry said.

Apart from that, the two top diplomats discussed current issues of the development of the traditionally friendly Russian-Egyptian relations, including political dialogue, as well as trade-and-economic and humanitarian ties.

The two-day meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers will begin in Nizhny Novgorod on June 10 and will be chaired by Lavrov. Apart from that, the meeting will be attended by ministers from the Friends of BRICS nations. This will be the first ministerial meeting following the association’s extension in 2023.