Lavrov in Marrakech for the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum: Remarks and Presser

The rapidity of events is demanding for those trying to stay abreast of them. After his very detailed interview for the Great Game program, Lavrov was soon off to Morocco for the plenary session of the sixth session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum that was then followed by Lavrov’s remarks prior to taking questions from the media. What follows is Lavrov’s opening statement prior to the plenary session:

Mr. Chairman,

Dear Nasser,

Colleagues

Friends

On behalf of the Russian delegation, I would like to express my gratitude to His Majesty the King of Morocco, as well as to the host of today's event, my good friend, Minister for Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, Nicolas Bourité, for their hospitality and excellent organisation of the Russian-Arab Forum at such a high level.

Our meeting is taking place against the backdrop of an unprecedented deterioration of the situation in the Middle East and the continuing turbulence in the world. The complex, complex nature of emerging challenges and threats makes a collective approach to solving problems of strengthening peace and security in the region and ensuring its sustainable development increasingly in demand. This is the goal of our Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum, established in 2009, which has since established itself as an important mechanism for bringing together the positions of Russia and the Arab world on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

Our previous meeting in this format took place in Moscow in 2019, which resulted in the adoption of an Action Plan to implement the principles, goals and objectives of our joint mechanism. Despite the adjustments made by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the protracted coordination of the dates of our meeting today, most of the provisions of this document are being implemented in practice. This contributes to the development of multifaceted and mutually beneficial Russian-Arab cooperation.

The agenda of today's meeting is full of problematic issues. At present, a number of crises and conflicts persist in the vast expanse of the Middle East and North Africa, hindering the development of many countries in the region, which has the richest economic and cultural potential.

After the terrorist attack of October 7, which we categorically condemned, the situation in the oldest sore spot in this part of the world – the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation zone – has sharply deteriorated. This time, the violence that we see on a daily basis has assumed unprecedented, truly catastrophic proportions. The number of dead and wounded is in the tens of thousands. Most of them are civilians in the Gaza Strip, primarily children and women. The suffering of the population of the enclave has been exacerbated by the effects of the Israeli blockade.

We believe that the primary task is to stop the bloodshed and provide conditions for providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to all those in need. Regrettably, our numerous attempts, together with like-minded countries, to get the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding a sustainable ceasefire, are met with tough opposition from the United States, which is taking a one-sided position and trying to usurp any processes and initiatives. Nevertheless, in coordination with our partners, primarily Arab partners, we continue to make efforts in the interests of long-term stabilisation of the situation and the transfer of the work on the settlement of the conflict to the political and diplomatic plane.

It is clear that the outbreaks of violence will continue until the long-standing injustice that has been at the root of the conflict is eliminated and the Palestinian people exercise their right under the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions to establish their independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Only such a balanced approach based on international law can lead to sustainable peace.

Russia's principled position coincides with the line of the Arab countries, which reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the crisis based on the universally recognised international legal framework during the summit of the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh on November 11. Within its framework, all controversial issues should be settled. What is needed is a collective diplomatic mechanism aimed at creating the conditions for the implementation of the decisions of the international community. One of the key and most urgent tasks is the restoration of Palestinian unity.

Even before the start of the escalation in the Gaza Strip, in the spring of this year, it was proposed to hold ministerial consultations in order to consolidate the positions of the regional players involved in order to help restore the unity of the Palestinian people and organisations. This initiative remains on the table.

We welcome the growing trend towards increasing the role of Middle Eastern countries in efforts to resolve the problems of their region. This approach has already made it possible to reach agreements on the restoration of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and to accelerate the process of comprehensive normalization between Syria and its Arab neighbors by returning Syria to the Arab League.

This positive trend needs to be supported. Especially now, when it has become obvious that some external forces are not averse to using the latest aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in their own interests, to ignite the fire of regional enmity in the development of the numerous past adventures unleashed by the United States and its allies in the Middle East over the past twenty years. Their result is undermined statehood, hundreds of thousands of victims, huge flows of refugees, and a sharp aggravation of socio-economic problems. The goal is clear – to weaken the countries that pursue an independent foreign policy.

We are familiar with this handwriting from the events in Ukraine. In an effort to inflict what has been declared a "strategic defeat" on Russia, or, as they have recently begun to say in Washington, "to prevent Putin from winning in Ukraine," the United States and its European allies continue to sponsor the criminal Kiev regime and pump it with deadly weapons. It is no secret that Vladimir Zelensky and his entourage are under direct external control. The "collective West" still assigns Ukraine the role of a tool in the big game, a supplier of "cannon fodder" to serve the interests of the United States and other NATO members.

The crisis in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, as well as the "watershed" in the approaches to these crises between the Western minority and the world majority, indicate that the world is at a fateful fork in the road. In essence, the question is whether it will be possible to form a truly just and democratic world order based on the central role of the UN, on the Charter principle of the sovereign equality of states and on a verified balance of interests of all countries, or whether the United States and a group of former colonial metropolises will continue to impose their "rules" and their selfish agenda on the international community.

We are convinced that it is impossible to turn back the course of history. New centers of globally significant decision-making have come to the forefront of the world stage. Among them, Arab countries are playing an increasingly important role. The sooner all our Western "colleagues" realize this truth, the better it is for them. Today, when the world continues to storm, as I said, it is important to go back to basics. First of all, I would like to refer to the principles of the UN Charter that define the norms of interstate communication, including the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in their internal affairs. The principles of the UN Charter must be respected and observed, not selectively, but in their natural, inseparable interconnection and completeness.

Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, will continue to act in international affairs on the basis of a clear understanding of its responsibilities. We will continue to promote the unifying agenda and contribute to strengthening global security and settling regional conflicts.

To this end, we are always open to honest partnership with all those who, like us, are guided in international affairs by the principles of equality, mutual respect and the search for a balance of interests. We are glad that our Arab friends are among these partners.

I hope that in addition to regional and global security issues, today we will be able to discuss in detail the prospects for deepening Russian-Arab cooperation in trade, the economy, culture and education, and healthcare. This has just been said by my colleague, the chairperson of this event, Foreign Minister of Morocco Nikos Bourita.

Based on the results of the talks, we will have to approve the final declaration, as well as the next Action Plan for the implementation of the principles, goals and objectives of the Forum for the next three years. I am confident that this will be another contribution to strengthening our partnership.

We now move on to Lavrov’s post-meeting remarks to the media and the following Q&A session:

Dear Mr. Minister,

We agree with the assessments that have just been made with regard to the sixth meeting of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum, which has just taken place.

The conversation was frank, as it should be among friends. We shared our assessments and noted the coincidence of our approaches to most issues on the international and regional agenda. We reviewed the entire range of challenges and threats faced by the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The general principle in dealing with these problems for us and our Arab friends is that the internal problems of the countries of the region should be resolved without outside interference, through a broad national dialogue aimed at achieving social harmony.

We are all committed to such principles of the UN Charter as respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. We believe that this is the most important condition for ensuring regional stability, including the positive trend of increasing the role of the Arab countries themselves in helping to resolve the above-mentioned crises and conflicts.

The main attention was paid to the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, where unprecedented escalation is taking place (primarily in the Gaza Strip and not only there). We reiterated our position that, while condemning any terrorist acts, we also consider it unacceptable to respond to them by means of collective punishment of civilians and the indiscriminate use of force in violation of international humanitarian law.

We reaffirmed our common position in favour of achieving a sustainable ceasefire as soon as possible and providing assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip who are suffering from the severe humanitarian consequences of the blockade and the ongoing hostilities. We hope that in the near future the UN Security Council will be able to raise its voice in favour of an overdue humanitarian step.

We agreed to cooperate in the UN (Security Council, General Assembly and other UN bodies) in the context of promoting the above-mentioned approaches.

As for "tomorrow", I hope that it will not be postponed for a long time. It is obvious that there is no alternative to a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within the universally recognized framework of international law, which presupposes the creation of an independent Palestinian State coexisting side by side in good-neighbourliness, peace and security with Israel. This is our common position.

We discussed the situation in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Sudan and other crisis areas. We expressed hope that Damascus' return to the League of Arab States will help create additional conditions for promoting a comprehensive political settlement in and around Syria based on respect for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of that country.

We exchanged views on the situation on the African continent, primarily in the Sahara-Sahel region and Somalia. We share the view that sustainable stabilization in the region can only be achieved through effective counteraction to terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations. In this regard, we stressed the importance of consolidating the efforts of the international community to combat terrorist groups, wherever they operate, no matter what goals they use to justify their criminal actions. It doesn't matter who they target with their threats and actions.

As my friend and colleague Nicos Bourita stressed, assessments of the state of affairs in the region and in the international arena are contained in a detailed Joint Statement, which has been adopted and is now being circulated by our Moroccan hosts.

We spoke in favour of further strengthening practical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Arab world, including on the issues mentioned by Mr. Bourita. I am referring to the development of political dialogue, cooperation on security, the economy, trade, investment, culture, education, and humanitarian issues in general. All this is included in the Joint Action Plan. This is the second document of its kind, which covers the period 2024-2026. This is an important guideline for building further practical cooperation for mutual benefit. We are united in this task. We will move towards its full implementation.

I would like to once again thank our Moroccan friends for organising this meeting and for their warm hospitality.

Question: The previous session of the forum was held in 2019 in a completely different world. There has not yet been a pandemic, the Ukrainian crisis in its hot phase, or a new war in the Middle East. Few people have talked about multipolarity outside of Russia. How have our country's relations with the Arab states changed during this time?

Sergey Lavrov: I think that in 2019, when the fifth meeting of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum was held, all the issues you outlined were already on the hot and relevant agenda.

Yesterday, at a meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry Board, President Vladimir Putin recalled in great detail how it was orchestrated by the United States and its Western allies in order to turn Ukraine into an instrument of deterrence against Russia, into a springboard for creating direct threats to our security and for infringing, discriminating against and even physically exterminating those who lived in Ukraine. On the lands that were developed and settled by the Russian people and their descendants. They wanted to stay within the framework of their culture, language and history, and were directly threatened as early as 2014. Both Petr Poroshenko and Vladimir Zelensky passed many laws that directly prohibit the Russian language in almost all spheres of peaceful life. Where the Verkhovna Rada did not "reach", local authorities "added" there. A couple of months ago, the Kyiv City Council adopted a decision prohibiting any manifestations of Russian culture and the Russian language in the daily life of the Ukrainian capital.

I can't say that the Middle East was calm in 2019. However, nothing compares to the catastrophic crisis that we are witnessing now and to which we have devoted our main attention today. The intensity of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation that we are witnessing now has had a decisive impact on the agenda of today's meeting.

We also mentioned the situation in Ukraine. A specially created Contact Group of the League of Arab States on Ukraine visited the Russian Federation back in the spring of 2022. We had a good conversation about the causes of the Ukrainian crisis, how it can be resolved by stopping the use of Ukraine against the Russian Federation, stopping the Nazification of this country and any actions aimed at exterminating everything Russian. We assessed this initiative of the League of Arab States in the statement that we adopted today. I would like to emphasise that Russia welcomes any constructive ideas, including the ideas of the League of Arab States on creating conditions for a just solution to the conflict on the basis of international law, including the rights of national minorities and the legitimate security interests of each state.

In the current conditions, the topic of Ukraine sounds different. In 2019, neither German Chancellor Angela Merkel, nor French President Francois Hollande, nor President of Ukraine Petr Poroshenko publicly admitted that they did not care about the Minsk Agreements. It was necessary to sign this "paper" and approve it in the UN Security Council, only to gain several years for pumping Ukraine with weapons. In 2019, we already suspected this. But since then, public, voluntary, confessional testimony has already been given.

We talked about the fact that both in the case of Ukraine and in the case of the Middle East, there are tendencies when the United States believes that it has the right to usurp and monopolise any foreign policy processes, as a result of which it brings devastation to a particular region and undermines statehood, as it happened, for example, with Libya. Hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, socio-economic decline and huge refugee flows. These are the results of the many adventures that the United States has staged in the Middle East. Their aim is only to put in their place, as they believe, States whose Governments dare to pursue independent policies in their national interests.

In this sense, the nature of what we are seeing now in the Middle East and what is happening in Ukraine is similar. We are convinced that justice will prevail in both cases.

As far as the Middle East is concerned, this crisis (if we are talking about any positive conclusions) has exacerbated the problem of the creation of a Palestinian state to the utmost. Today, we were united in the view that this task must be completed as soon as possible. Otherwise, these outbreaks of violence will continue.

Regrettably, today we hear a lot of rumours and reports from some anonymous sources that our Western colleagues, led by the United States, are once again hatching some kind of private projects aimed at calming the situation and preventing the unification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River. In this way, in fact, they will prevent the creation of a Palestinian state and postpone all this for later. The main conclusion from the current situation on the world stage, which we share with our friends from the Arab League, is that this is an invitation to another crisis and conflict. The UN Security Council's decision to establish a Palestinian state must be implemented immediately. Of course, after we manage to stop the current hostilities and solve humanitarian problems together.

In fact, the things we are talking about now show a heightened understanding in the world that multipolarity is not someone's whim, not some "rules" on which the world order should be based according to Washington and its allies, but an objective historical process. Compared to 2019, the understanding of the inevitability of this process has deepened and expanded around the world, including in the Middle East and North Africa. If we talk about the Arab League, we can see how this structure is really becoming an integral part of this multipolar world, one of the pillars of polycentricity.

Question (retranslated from Arabic): How do you assess the results of this forum? How do you see Morocco's role in this area, especially Morocco's strategic vision for Africa?

Sergey Lavrov: We have been talking about this forum's assessments for half an hour. This is a well-organized event. We have been preparing it for a long time. First, the pandemic intervened. Then we looked for mutually acceptable dates. Everyone agreed that Marrakech was an agreed meeting place. In the end, this is exactly what happened. As we say, there is a silver lining.

The additional time that was available for the preparation of the forum made it possible to make its results very qualitative. I am referring to the Joint Statement and the Action Plan, which indeed contains absolutely clear and specific areas for further work. We must emphasise once again (as all the participants in our meeting have said) that the Moroccan presidency has done a great job. This will go down in the history of relations between Russia and the Arab League. Maybe even if no one is against it now, let's call the adopted statement the "Marrakesh Declaration."

As for the "gateway" to Africa. Morocco is one of our leading trade and economic partners. Together with the Moroccans and many other members of the League of Arab States, we are developing projects that have the potential for regional coverage. At the final stage of discussion is the creation of a Russian industrial zone in Egypt, in the Suez Canal zone. This project also aims to have a regional dimension. We are in favour of having as many projects as possible that not only deal with bilateral ties, but also create a regional foundation for strengthening, among other things, the positions of our friends in this region.

Question (retranslated from Arabic): What is the role of Egypt and Qatar in the Middle East settlement? What do you think about today's UN meeting? Will the U.S. block the resolution?

Sergey Lavrov: In response to the previous question, I have already said that we hope (I mean all the members of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum present here) that the UN Security Council will be aware of its responsibility to raise its voice and use its competence and very broad powers to stop the bloodshed and move on to establishing a ceasefire and resolving humanitarian issues. It's really a disaster there.

I say that I hope that the UN Security Council will be able to make such a decision, because, as you rightly said, the United States has already used a couple of times, using vetoes or other methods, not to pass resolutions aimed at a ceasefire, or at least a humanitarian ceasefire. From the point of view of international law, there are nuances.

We are in constant contact with our representatives in New York. It's not morning there yet. The vote is scheduled for today. Let's see what happened during the time it was night here and in Europe.

You mentioned a new initiative that was unexpectedly launched today with the mediation of Qatar. As far as I understand, there were representatives of the Biden administration and the Israeli government in Qatar. Suddenly, there was a proposal for a new humanitarian pause (this is the weakest term) for a week in order to exchange some more hostages and prisoners.

Coincidentally, the UN Security Council has been considering this issue for several days. I do not rule out that our American colleagues will come to New York today for a meeting of the Security Council and say that there is a good proposal for a humanitarian pause for a week, and suggest that the resolution not be adopted. I hope that this will not happen. And they do have an awareness of their responsibility. However, I do not rule out this option.

We will strive to ensure that international law is the basis for all actions taken to overcome this catastrophic crisis and move on to resolving humanitarian problems, and then, without delay, to convening a conference or some other forum where it is necessary to resolve the issue of creating a Palestinian state on the basis of existing UN decisions.

So far there’re no links available to the announced joint declarations. Hopefully, they’ll be published later today. Russia’s made great advances with its Arab and African policies that it just needs to execute and further build upon as its partners are quite eager to make up for lost time. On Palestine, again the issue is how to force the agreed upon solution with the Zionists and its Outlaw US Empire ally standing in the way.

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