Lavrov: the Russian part of the agreement was not implemented

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that despite the efforts of the United Nations (UN), the part of the Black Sea Grain Agreement regarding his country was not implemented.

The 6th Strategic Dialogue Meeting of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States between Russia and the Gulf was held at the Russian Foreign Ministry in the capital Moscow.

Lavrov and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif ez-Ziyani, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamed al-Busaidi, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Qatar’s Foreign Minister , Sultan bin Saad al-Murayhi, and the Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Khalifa Şahin al-Marar and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Casim Mohammed al-Budeyvi, attended the meeting.

In his speech at the start of the meeting, Lavrov said that 12 years have passed since the establishment of such a format, and during this time the strategic dialogue has proven to be an effective mechanism for exchanging views on important regional and global issues, and improving economic and humanitarian cooperation between countries.

Stating that Russia continues to develop its multifaceted relationship with the member countries of the Council, Lavrov said that despite difficult geopolitical conditions, they managed to maintain the positive course in mutual trade.

Lavrov noted that at the end of last year, the trade volume between Russia and Council member countries increased by 6 percent compared to the previous year.

Stating that they will negotiate all the challenges facing the Middle East, including the strategically important Gulf region, Lavrov said they will touch on creating a regional collective security system to effectively counter the many challenges and threats.

“THE MEETING WITH THE GULF COUNTRIES IS NOT AGAINST OTHERS”

In his speech at the press conference held later, Lavrov announced that the joint statement and action plan of Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council for the period 2023-2028 had been accepted.

Explaining that Russia and the Gulf countries honestly expressed their mutual positions, Lavrov said: “Today’s meeting confirmed that none of us is trying to cooperate against anyone.” saying.

Noting that neither Russia nor the Gulf countries seek to interfere in their relations with third parties, Lavrov described relations between Russia and these countries as “friendly partnerships based on mutual respect, caring for each other’s interests and the desire to create a consensus”. on common approaches to any subject negotiated”.

“RUSSIA IS READY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ARAB PARTNERS”

Underlining that Russia is ready to meet all the grain needs of its Arab partners, Lavrov said: “Today, we said that we are ready to meet all the needs of our Arab partners, including their additional needs. There are no barriers to that.” he used the phrases.

When asked by a journalist about improving the terms of the Black Sea Grain Agreement, Lavrov said that the Russian part of this agreement was not implemented.

Stating that they have long heard that UN officials are making incredible efforts in this regard, Lavrov said: “These incredible efforts have not brought results. So I don’t know how to cure something that doesn’t exist.” he said.

Arguing that the Ukraine-related part of the deal has become a commercial project, Lavrov said that less than 3 percent of the total volume of grain exported from Ukrainian ports goes to the poorest and most disadvantaged countries on the Organization’s list. Food World. (AA)