Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address at the Valdai Discussion Club’s conference Russia and the Middle East: Strategic Rapprochement and the Intertwinement of Interests, Moscow, February 21, 2022

Colleagues, friends,

I am delighted to address the participants of the Middle East Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club. It is nice that the conference is being held offline despite the complicated epidemiological situation. First of all, I would like to thank the conference organisers – Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, and Vitaly Naumkin, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Academic Director of the Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies.

Regarding the theme of this conference, I would like to say that Russia’s priorities in the Middle East and North Africa have not changed for many years. Our priority is to create conditions that will further strengthen Russia’s multifaceted and mutually beneficial ties with the regional countries on the basis of equality. While working towards this goal, we have been acting in strict compliance with international law, including the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. We also respect the right of regional nations to freely choose their political and socioeconomic development paths.

I believe that this is why our country is respected in the Middle East as a reliable and predictable international partner, which is evident from our intensive political dialogue at the high and highest levels, as well as from the steady growth in our trade and economic cooperation with many Middle Eastern states. The figures speak for themselves. In the first 11 months of last year, trade between Russia and the United Arab Emirates increased by over 78 percent to $4.5 billion, which is a new historic high. Our trade with Qatar grew by 52 percent, while our trade with Saudi Arabia increased by 38 percent and with Bahrain by over 37 percent.

I would like to make a special point of the consistent growth trend in practical cooperation with Egypt, our major trade and economic partner in the region. The construction of Africa’s first nuclear power plant according to Russian technology, El Dabaa, will begin soon. A project to create the Russian Industrial Cluster in the Suez Canal Economic Zone is in the final stage of coordination.

We are working closely together with our Middle Eastern friends to reduce the negative effects of the coronavirus. About a dozen regional countries have registered Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Several countries in the Middle East and North Africa are at an advanced stage of negotiating for its local production.

Regrettably, ongoing crises and conflicts are seriously holding back the considerable potential of Russian-Arab cooperation. In this context I would like to say a few words about our principled approach to the most complicated regional problems.

One of Russia’s clear priorities is to promote a comprehensive settlement in Syria. In our opinion, sustainable normalisation at this stage should be ensured above all by socioeconomic measures. The priority goals include the creation of favourable conditions for the voluntary repatriation of millions of Syrian refugees.

It is obvious that concerted, collective efforts are needed to launch the post-conflict recovery, first of all, the use of the capabilities of the Arab world, which Syria is an integral part of. I would like to note that UN Security Council Resolution 2585 on cross-border humanitarian aid delivery offers additional opportunities for providing multifaceted humanitarian assistance to the Syrians, including within the framework of the early recovery projects. We regard the launch of the project to transmit electricity from Jordan to Lebanon and to deliver natural gas from Egypt via Syria as positive examples of the general support for stepping up Damascus’ economic ties with the Arab neighbours. We hope that this positive trend will lead to Syria’s restoration to full membership in the Arab League in the near future.

As for the political aspect of a settlement, we are highlighting the activities of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. We intend to work consistently with the Syrian parties and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to ensure that its sessions are constructive and held regularly. I would like to point out the great contribution made towards this by Academician Vitaly Naumkin, who is providing support to the work of the committee as a member of the Special Envoy’s team.

The Astana Format remains the most effective mechanism of international support for the Syrian settlement process. We will continue to work jointly with our Turkish and Iranian partners within its framework. In December 2021, the 17th International Meeting on Syria was held in Nur-Sultan. At the initiative of our, Turkish partners we will review our positions at the ministerial level soon.

As you are aware, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad is in Moscow on a working visit. He kindly agreed to deliver his remarks at this conference. You will be able to hear them tomorrow.

A few words about Libya. The biggest achievement so far is that active hostilities have not been waged there for over a year. Over that period, major positive changes have taken place in the country. The Libyans, actively supported by the international community, are gradually overcoming the mistrust that has accumulated during the period of unrest, and they are learning to come to agreement and to look for compromises. The unified interim authorities were established in 2021. The unification of government agencies and financial and economic institutions is ongoing.

We maintain stable and balanced ties with the leading political forces in the west, east and south of the country. We are working at the bilateral level and on the international stage to encourage Libyan politicians to hold a constructive dialogue and look for compromise solutions. We hope that the delay of the general elections, which were scheduled to be held in late December, will not provoke a new military-political escalation and will not place the political process on hold.

Another sphere of our activities has to do with creating conditions for maintaining security in the Persian Gulf. With this aim in view, we worked together with our Arab and Iranian partners to update the Russian Collective Security Concept for the Persian Gulf Region in 2021. In August 2021, it was circulated as an official document of the UN Security Council and General Assembly and submitted for consideration to the leaders of the Gulf states.

The updated version of the Concept is focused on the adoption of a long-term joint action plan to strengthen regional stability. It provides for establishing dispute and conflict settlement mechanisms and defining the main parameters of the future architecture of interstate interaction in the Persian Gulf region. The draft prepared by Russia also stipulates the development of multilateral military-political coordination and economic, humanitarian, environmental and other ties.

During the 2nd International Expert Meeting held at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow on November 15-16, 2021, representatives of NGOs and academic communities held an in-depth discussion on the Concept. They decided to continue to exchange views within the framework of a special unofficial contact group. We remain open to dialogue with all interested parties.

And lastly, peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without settling the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I am convinced that we must not lose hope despite the great complexity of the problem. We must make use of every available opportunity to relaunch the peace process. We believe that multilateral efforts must be stimulated, including in the format of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators. Their mission should be to create conditions for relaunching direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis as soon as possible on the basis of international law.

Colleagues,

The time limit prevents me from speaking about all the current issues that deserve to be given attention in the Middle East and North Africa. I am referring to the recurring conflict in Yemen and the internal political turbulence in Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and several other countries. To conclude my address, I would like to emphasise that Russian diplomacy will continue working to make the Middle East a region of security, stability and prosperity. We will continue to provide assistance in order to overcome crises and will contribute, as much as we can, to the post-conflict recovery of the affected countries.

I know that the high professionalism of the conference participants guarantees that there will be frank and in-depth discussions on all the current issues. I wish you fruitful discussions.

Thank you.