Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that his talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow focused on the common goal of developing relations between the two countries at all levels.
At a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Shoukry pointed out that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is constantly increasing, and that the continued dependence on goods exchanged between Egypt and Russia is important, and is being maintained and expanded.
He explained that he discussed with his Russian counterpart the regional and international situations of common interest, and stressed the interest of Egypt, as well as the entire international community, in reaching conditions that would allow the end of the military confrontation in Ukraine.
The Foreign Minister explained that the talks with Lavrov touched on the situation in the Palestinian territories, the importance of calm and non-escalation, refraining from unilateral measures that complicate the situation, the need to find the political framework for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the need for the international community to play its role in accordance with the decisions of the legitimacy of the state, and preserving the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Minister Shoukry stressed that the talks touched on the situation in Libya and the Egyptian efforts that support a Libyan – Libyan consensus that ends the transitional phase, Libyan elections are being held and a government is being formed that ends the presence of foreign forces and militias and restores the capabilities of the Libyan people to them, the need to preserve legitimate institutions.
He also stressed that Egypt continues to move to achieve consensus between the Houses of Representatives and the State to agree on a constitutional framework that pushes for holding presidential and legislative elections, and to push for activating the role of the “5+5” Committee.
“It is important that this be done in accordance with the Libyan – Libyan framework, and Egypt has a major interest in the security and stability of Libya to maintain Egyptian national security and combat terrorism.” Shoukry added.
He continued: We discussed the situation in Syria and the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of Syria, non-interference in Syrian affairs, rejection of the presence of foreign forces in Syria or the implementation of military operations contrary to the decisions of international legitimacy.
“We will communicate with the UN envoy to implement Security Council Resolution 2254 and work through our partners, including Russia, to reach a situation that preserves Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said: “We are interested in the Egyptian position on various crises in the Middle East and in Africa and the various cooperation frameworks put forward by the Egyptian side.”
Lavrov added: “Russia and Egypt are cooperating within the framework of the United Nations (UN), where we are witnessing attempts by some members of the international community to impose certain rules as an alternative to the UN Charter, which no one knows.”
He stressed that his country is counting on intensive talks between Moscow and Cairo on the development of bilateral relations under the current circumstances
On the situation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Minister explained that supporting Ukraine with more offensive weapons pushes Russia to take measures to prevent Ukraine from becoming a threat to the state.
“We will not allow the regime in Kiev to undermine the rights of citizens adhering to Russian culture in Ukraine,” he added, noting that the way to peace is not to supply Ukraine with weapons and launch a hybrid war from NATO against Russia.
He explained that the Russian special military forces are taking the necessary measures to abort attempts by the west to supply Ukraine with more weapons.
Lavrov stressed that his country highly appreciates the balanced and thoughtful Egyptian position on various regional issues and the quest to find solutions to many crises.
He pointed out that the volume of trade exchange reached 6 billion dollars by the end of this year, calling for the need to enhance the progress and work of the Egyptian – Russian Economic Committee to enhance cooperation, as its next meeting will be held in Cairo.
He stressed that it was agreed to continue the transfer of Russian wheat to Egypt, pointing to the areas of cooperation in the economic and military sectors, culture and education.
Lavrov said that it was agreed to strengthen cooperation and consultation in regional and international crises, pointing out that consultations were held on the developments in the situation in Libya, praising Egypt’s hosting of the Libyan – Libyan dialogue in Cairo, which is supported by Moscow.
Regarding Syria, Lavrov pointed out the importance of the need to intensify consultations with the Arab League on the situation in Syria specifically.
He noted that he discussed the developments in the Palestinian territories and the need to reach a comprehensive settlement on the international legal basis and activate the work of the quartet of mediators, whose work is not progressing, explaining that the second Russian-African summit will be held in July in St. Petersburg.
He pointed out that his country is ready to hear any serious proposals to settle the situation completely and comprehensively, stressing that he listened to the messages of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on the need for Russia to stop all military operations, criticizing the statements of the NATO Secretary General in which he touched on the need to defeat Russia in Ukraine.
