Sameh Shoukry: Egypt and Russia have the same goals in solving the Middle East disputes.
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry discussed with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov several regional issues in Moscow on Monday, including confronting terrorism and coordinating in international forums, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two parties also discussed the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt.
The meeting comes as part of Shoukry’s European tour, which includes Russia, Estonia, and Lithuania, to boost bilateral relations and discuss the latest regional and international issues, in addition to promoting the candidacy of Moushira Khattab to head UNESCO.
During his visit to Russia, Shoukry handed over a letter from Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid said.
Shoukry praised the level of partnership between Egypt and Russia in the context of the strategic consultations agreement 2×2, which includes the ministries of foreign affairs and defence in the two countries.
Russia has signed this agreement with only six countries, including Egypt.
Regarding the Palestinian issue, Shoukry reviewed the Egyptian evaluation for the security and political situation in the Palestinian occupied territories, and the results of the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine, according to the statement.
Shoukry also discussed with his Russian counterpart the candidacy of Moushira Khattab to head UNESCO, seeking Russian support.
Russia and Egypt are working to demilitarize the Middle East
Russia and Egypt are interested in finding a solution to create a free zone in the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
“Together with our Egyptian friends, we also feel very unfortunate that another UN decision on the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East cannot be implemented. Within the framework of the Review Conferences of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Russia and Egypt are actively cooperating in order to find a solution that would allow the implementation of this long-standing agreement. Today we discussed additional steps in this direction,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov pointed out that the situation in the Middle East requires the continuous coordination and consultation between Egypt and Russia, expressing his country’s keenness on listening to the Egyptian point of view towards the updates in the region, according to Abu Zaid.
Abu Zaid added that the meeting asserted the importance of Egypt’s role in Libya, in addition to coordinating on the Syrian issue.
Lavrov also said that the mediating states in the settlement of the Libyan conflict should facilitate constructive negotiations in Libya.
