Russia, Arab Gulf states can improve situation in region- Lavrov

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Russia and the countries of the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf states can bring their positions closer on a number of issues and work together to improve the situation in the region, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Council countries, RIA Novosti reported.

He stressed that Moscow is interested in the development of political dialogue with the region.

"We believe that we can bring our positions closer on a number of issues and work together to improve the situation in the region, which has suffered enough from instability," said the Russian minister.

Lavrov added that another topic of discussion is "the deepening of economic and trade cooperation”.

 "We have a lot of different projects, including joint investment platforms. We appreciate this format of communication," said the Russian minister.

In turn, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Dzhubeyr stressed that the Cooperation Council of Arab Gulf states "want to maintain closer cooperation with the Russian Federation."

 "We are ready to discuss cooperation with your country in the sphere of security, as well as trade," he said.

Historically, Russia and Arab Gulf states had warm relations. As a result, Russia and other CIS countries are increasingly seen as attractive emerging markets by Gulf states, in which to invest, particularly due to their huge potential in bringing an abundance of raw materials to the international markets.

In 1992, the then Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Kozyrev visited all of the GCC countries in a series of official visits. It was the first official visit to the GCC states as a whole, and a sign of Russian willingness to develop full-fledged relations with the group.

In May 2004, Russia and Oman signed a protocol on the completion of bilateral talks on Russia’s admission to the World Trade Organization. The delegation from the Sultanate of Oman participated in the joint meetings of the Russian-Arab Business Council. Oman and Russia expressed their readiness to establish a bilateral Russian-Omani Commission in the framework of the Council.

In 2008, Russia and the GCC states started preparations for strategic dialogue.

In November 2011 a memorandum of understanding was signed during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, establishing a formal mechanism for consultations and cooperation between the GCC as a regional organization and the Russian Federation. It was an attempt to try a new path of cooperation after a long period of mutual neglect.

Moreover, in February 2014 the third ministerial meeting for GCC - Russia strategic dialogue was held in Kuwait.

Hence, the will of two sides to cooperate closer in different spheres may serve as an intensive to move the relations between Russia and GCC to a more positive phase.