We are talking, first of all, about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As Lavrov stressed, “achieving real stability in the Middle East is impossible without resolving this crisis.” “Time has once again confirmed that without resolving this problem the region will not be able to develop stably,” the Russian minister noted. The current escalation, according to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, is characterized by an unprecedented level of violence, of “catastrophic scale.” “The number of civilian victims in the Gaza Strip has already exceeded the total number of deaths during all previous Arab-Israeli wars,” Lavrov noted. “The failure of the international community to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip and stop the mass death of its residents has led to a sharp deterioration of the military-political situation in the entire region,” the minister said. “The Middle East is once again on the brink of a major regional war. It is our common responsibility to prevent it,” Lavrov called on his colleagues from the GCC countries. In this regard, hopes are pinned on Qatar, which, according to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, plays a key role in the process of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
It is worth noting that crises in the Middle East countries have always been at the center of the dialogue between Russia and the GCC; the conflicts in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen were discussed at the meetings, but they faded into the background as the situation improved, and only the Palestinian-Israeli conflict stands out for its “stability” and still requires attention. However, the Syrian issue, the Lebanese issue and the situation in the Red Sea were also discussed at the meeting in the context of the security situation.
Russian Foreign Minister stressed the important role of Gulf countries in the new multipolar world order
The Ukrainian issue could not be left out either. Lavrov thanked the GCC members for their balanced position. And in terms of relations with the United States and Europe, Saudi Arabia has already received thanks for providing assistance in the exchange of prisoners.
However, security is only one of many issues that were discussed during the meeting. After all, the dialogue is aimed, first of all, at strengthening cooperation between Russia and the Gulf countries. And GCC Secretary General Jassem Mohamed al-Budeiwi spoke directly about this. “All Gulf countries consider the task of strengthening cooperation with the Russian Federation to be of paramount importance in light of the important historical and strategic relations that unite us,” he said in his opening remarks. Al-Budeiwi called for intensifying work on the joint action plan until 2028, which was adopted at the last meeting in Moscow. The ministers then agreed to work to create an enabling environment for increased trade and investment, as well as to develop energy supply chains and strengthen cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
The situation on the oil market is extremely important for the Gulf countries, many of which are joining the OPEC+ group (as is Russia). In early September, OPEC+ postponed the decision to restore oil production due to the fall in the market price of black gold. The heads of the Foreign Ministries of Russia and the GCC countries simply needed to exchange views on this issue.
Saudi Arabia itself, despite the desire to diversify its economy and get rid of dependence on oil, is currently not ready to let global hydrocarbon prices float freely. For several years now, the kingdom has been implementing the ambitious Vision 2030 project. It involves large-scale construction throughout the country. And this is clearly visible in Riyadh. There are a huge number of construction projects in the capital, the city should grow into a high-rise building in the coming years. In some places you can only see land prepared for construction, in others buildings and future skyscrapers are already being built. And this is only in the capital, but there are several other projects, for example, the construction of a mirror building several kilometers long, the creation of a tourist center, the construction of nuclear power plants (16 power units). Now it is being decided which countries and companies will participate in this project. Russia is one of them.
No major event Lavrov attends is complete without bilateral talks. This time it was the same. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry opened the marathon of side meetings with a conversation with GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed al-Budeiwi. Lavrov assured his interlocutor that relations with the Gulf countries are a priority for Russia, primarily in the economic, technological, trade and also international issues.
In addition, closed-door meetings for journalists were held with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. The latter presented Lavrov with a gift – a jersey of the Brazilian national football team. The Russian minister is a well-known connoisseur of this sport. And his colleagues take advantage of this – they know exactly what to give Lavrov. In 2021, Vieira’s predecessor Carlos Alberto Franca presented the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry with a jersey in the colors of the national team and the inscription Lavrov. A little over a month ago in Malaysia, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan also presented his colleague from the Russian Federation with a personalized jersey of the Malaysian national football team. As for the actual gift, it is also unique because the shirt was signed by Real Madrid player Vinicius José Paixan de Oliveira Junior, one of Lavrov’s favourite players.
A gift from his Brazilian colleague to Lavrov: a national team jersey signed by Vinicius Junior. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
By the way, it was no coincidence that Khankaishar and Vieira ended up in Riyadh on Monday. On that day, in the capital of Saudi Arabia, similar Russian meetings between the foreign ministers of India and Brazil with representatives of the GCC were held. True, this was the first time, unlike the meetings of the Russian Federation and the GCC. And they became a clear evidence of the rapprochement of the BRICS and the GCC – two economic blocs, new players in the multipolar world. As Lavrov recalled, the BRICS recently doubled their membership, including at the expense of Saudi Arabia, a member of the GCC, and many applications continue to be progressively developed that deserve consideration – and the GCC is now in a state of constant development.
The relations between the GCC and ASEAN should also be mentioned. They were also discussed at the ministerial meeting. According to Lavrov, they have great prospects both economically and for the creation of a new security architecture.
