Secretary-General & Russian envoy discuss latest developments in Middle East
Ashraf Abo Arafe
Today January 29, Mr. Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, received Mr. Mikhail Bogdanov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, as part of his visit to Cairo.
Ambassador Mahmoud Afifi, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said that the meeting witnessed an exchange of views between the two sides on a number of important regional issues, particularly the recent developments in the Syrian crisis, the developments in the Palestinian issue and ongoing efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation.
Afifi explained that the Secretary-General reviewed the overall positions and visions of the Arab League in this regard and expressed the hope of obtaining the support of the Russian Federation as one of the main actors in the field of international relations and its direct involvement in contacts on a number of prominent regional issues. Especially the Syrian file, for these positions and visions, taking into account the historical and extensive relations between the two sides, the Arab and Russian.
Aboul Gheit also reiterated the importance of working towards achieving a peaceful settlement to the crisis in Syria and supporting the efforts of the new UN envoy Pedersen in this regard, which would address the hopes and aspirations of all the Syrian people. The unity of the Syrian land and breaking the brink of terrorism, while working to stop foreign interference that would lead to further complications of the crisis or receive a negative impact on the future of the peaceful settlement.
The Russian official is keen to present the most important dimensions of the efforts and contacts of his country in this regard, including what is taking place within the framework of the meetings of “Astana” or in a bilateral framework with the parties involved in the crisis fiscussed with the Secretary General and the Arab League to identify Arab visions of developments.
In the same context, Afifi said that the meeting also witnessed a discussion on the developments concerning the Palestinian issue. The two sides agreed on the importance of working to advance the efforts to secure the legitimate right of the Palestinian people, first and foremost the right to establish their independent state, Over the past year, with regard to the issues of Jerusalem and refugees in particular, while also emphasizing the centrality of the work to achieve the desired Palestinian reconciliation in this context.
It is worth mentioning that the Secretary-General also discussed with Bogdanov the arrangements and the ongoing contacts between the two sides in preparation for the next ministerial meeting of the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum to be held in Russia next April.
