PRESS RELEASE

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov received Walid Jumblatt, Chairman of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon, on July 20 as part of Russia's line on maintaining contacts with representatives of a broad spectrum of Lebanese political forces.

During their conversation they paid their main attention to the developments in Lebanon, the complicated political, social, and economic processes in the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole, and the issues of the Middle East peace process.

The Russian side reaffirmed its support of Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity and underscored the importance of bolstering civil consensus in the country, including through constructive dialogue among all the Lebanese, with a view to tackling national problems without outside interference. Only such interaction for the good of Lebanon, it was stated, will allow for the nation's further crisis-free democratic development in the conditions of political turbulence in the region.

Jumblatt expressed his appreciation for Russia's balanced approaches to the problems of Lebanon and the Middle East. He spoke for further boosting and developing political dialogue and bilateral ties between Lebanon and Russia in various areas in accordance with existing agreements.

July 20, 2011