H. E. Mr. Nabil Fahmy meets with Russian Foreign Minister in New York

His Excellency Mr Nabil Fahmy, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, met on 23 September with Mr Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mr Lavrov congratulated Mr Fahmy on assuming his new post and wished him success in leading the League of Arab States during the period ahead.

The meeting addressed ways of strengthening Arab-Russian cooperation and developing the mechanisms for consultation and coordination between the two sides.

Mr Fahmy affirmed the League of Arab States’ keenness to expand its cooperation with the Russian Federation and build on the existing frameworks, foremost among them the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum.

The two sides also exchanged views on current regional and international developments, particularly the situation in the Middle East, developments concerning the Palestinian cause, and the situations in Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Sudan.

Mr Fahmy emphasised the importance of concerted international efforts to achieve political settlements to the crises facing the region, foremost among them the Palestinian cause, ending the war in the Gaza Strip, terminating the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to establish their independent state on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He also stressed the rejection of any Israeli attacks or violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab states, noting the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, as well as the rights and interests of the countries of the region, and to uphold the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.