On August 21, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Ayman Safadi, upon the latter’s initiative.

The foreign ministers had an extensive discussion of the recent events in the Middle East, focusing on the developments on the Palestinian territories, in Iran, Syria and Libya.

They paid particular attention to the Middle East peace process and stated the importance of creating conditions for resuming the direct dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis as soon as possible. The ministers confirmed their commitment to the two-state solution of the Palestinian problem based on the generally recognised international legal framework that includes the respective resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly as well as the Arab Peace Initiative. In view of the joint statement, made on August 13, 2020, on full normalisation of the relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, mediated by the United States, it was noted that by no means can the agreement serve as a substitute for a complete and comprehensive solution to the Middle East peace process.

Sergey Lavrov expressed serious concern over Washington’s consistent provocative policy aimed at inflaming tensions around Iran. The ministers expressed support of President Vladimir Putin’s initiative, proposed on August 14, on convening a meeting of the heads of state of the UNSC permanent members, with the participation of Germany and Iran, to discuss the major tasks for ensuring security in the Persian Gulf region.

The ministers confirmed Russia’s and Jordan’s similar approaches to the Syrian issue. They stressed the principled position of respecting the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and the fact that there can be no alternative to a political solution in this country based on UNSC Resolution 2254 and the decisions of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, with mandatory compliance with international law and the UN Charter. The parties praised the interaction between the two countries, both on a bilateral basis and within the Astana format, as well as within the framework of the Amman Centre involving Russia, Jordan and the United States.

With respect to Libya, the ministers noted the importance of establishing a stable ceasefire and launching intra-Libyan talks without delay under the mechanisms created by the decisions of the Berlin Conference on Libya and approved by UNSC Resolution 2510. The parties stated that it is essential that the new UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Libya start working as soon as possible since the appointment process has clearly been drawn out.

The foreign ministers expressed the shared intention of Moscow and Amman to maintain a high level of political contacts and further intensify multi-dimensional bilateral cooperation between Russia and Jordan.