MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Russia and the League of Arab States (LAS) believe that only a dialogue can resolve the recent situation around Qatar and the league’s reputation should help ease tension in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with LAS Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
"We have discussed the situation regarding Qatar," Lavrov said. "We have reiterated our common stance that the situation must be resolved by means of a dialogue."
"We believe that it is important to ensure that the concerns which have arisen should be removed and resolved in the spirit of mutual respect in the interests of the sustainable development of all the countries in the region," the top Russian diplomat said. "We hope that the reputation of the LAS will help in this regard."
Russia to respond to Arab countries’ call to settle Qatar situation
Russia is ready to respond to the Arab countries’ call to help solve the situation around Qatar if necessary, Lavrov said.
"We have repeatedly laid out our position that we will be ready to support any efforts to normalize the relations between Arab countries of the Gulf," he said. "Russian President has communicated on the phone with the main participants of the process, with Saudi Arabia’s King, with Qatar’s Emir, with Bahrein’s King, President of Egypt, President of Turkey. Qatar’s Foreign Minister has come to us, Abu Dhabi’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has been here, which means we’re in constant contact with all abovementioned countries," Lavrov said.
"We support mediatory efforts of Kuwait, and if all involved countries think that we can do something more to bridge divisions and concerns we will be ready to respond to respective calls," Russia’s top diplomat said.
On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Yemen, the interim government of Libya, the Maldives and Mauritius announced cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar over Doha’s hostile policies, interference in other Arab countries’ internal affairs and support of terrorism. Mauritania and the Comoro Islands later followed this example, while Jordan and Djibouti reduced their diplomatic representation in Qatar.
On June 22, four Arab countries, including Bahrain, laid down a list of 13 conditions for restoring diplomatic relations and gave Qatar ten days to fulfill their demands which particularly include reducing ties with Iran, closing the Al-Jazeera TV channel and putting an end to military cooperation with Turkey. Qatar’s government said that the demands were unacceptable as they had nothing to do with the fight against terrorism but aimed to limit the country’s sovereignty.
Russia said it would not meddle in the situation. Moscow also expressed hope that the issue would not become an obstacle in the fight against terrorism.