CAIRO – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed a Russian proposal for holding a meeting between the Russian foreign minister and the foreign ministers of five Arab countries to discuss ways of settling the dispute and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Discussions are aiming to support the political track and revive peacemaking as per related international terms of reference.
That came during a meeting on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of Shoukry’s participation in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meetings, which start activities on Monday and lasts for two days in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.
The minister tackled efforts made by the Egyptian-Qatari mediation to reach a deal leading to a truce that allows for the exchange of prisoners and hostages and the entry of assistance to the Palestinian people in the war-torn strip in order to achieve a permanent ceasefire and the exit of the Israeli forces from the coastal enclave.
Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the talks between Shoukry and the Russian foreign minister focused on the current crisis in the Gaza Strip and ways of settling it.
Abu Zeid added that Shoukry call coveyed to Lavrov the appreciation of the Egyptian side for positive developments in bilateral cooperation file between both states including the Russian zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).
Shoukry lauded executive steps taken in el Dabaa plant project, according to the spokesman.
The Egyptian foreign minister commended the activity of the current Russian presidency of the BRICS bloc and stressed Egypt’s greater interest in the active participation in the meetings called for by the Russian presidency in the bloc’s tracks.
The spokesman said the two ministers probed a number of regional issues, topped by the latest developments of the Ukrainian war and different ideas and proposals about means to end the conflict and the crisis in Sudan.
The two sides underscored the importance and necessity of work to end the conflict in Sudan.
The spokesman pointed out to the agreement of both ministers on promoting bilateral ties between the Egyptian and Russian sides and the continuation of consultations regarding issues of top priority to the BRICS bloc, in addition to ways of confronting regional and international challenges of joint interest.
