Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the preparations for the meeting of the leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Russian MFA reports. It is noted that the telephone conversation was held on the initiative of the American side.
"The officials had a detailed discussion of the preparations for the meeting of the leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council proposed by Russia," the message reads. The Russian Foreign Ministry added that during the conversation, they also exchanged opinions on providing strategic stability in the context of the forthcoming meetings of the Russian-US working groups on military and political subjects.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin came up with the idea of holding a summit of the "nuclear five" countries - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, USA, China, Great Britain and France). In his opinion, it is necessary to talk about the problems of preserving peace, strengthening global and regional security, controlling strategic weapons, as well as joint efforts to combat terrorism, extremism and other major challenges and threats. All the participants of the group expressed their interest in such a meeting. The decision on the date and place of the nuclear five summit will be made after agreeing on the agenda, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, Putin, speaking about the idea of holding a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, said that there were many uncertainties in international affairs that required the attention of these countries, and such a meeting would be in demand and useful.
In addition, Sergey Lavrov and Mike Pompeo discussed the settlement of conflicts in Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. "The parties discussed the goals of settling the conflicts in certain regions of the world, including Afghanistan, Syria and Libya," the MFA reports. It is noted that during the conversation, some other current issues on the international agenda and issues of bilateral relations were touched upon.
The armed conflict in Syria has been going on since 2011. At the end of 2017, the victory over the ISIS terrorist group (an organization outlawed in the Russian Federation) in Syria and Iraq was announced. In some areas of the country, the cleansing of militants continues. At the moment, the political settlement, reconstruction of Syria, as well as the return of refugees are at the forefront.
In Libya, a standoff continues between the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Fayez Sarraj, which controls Tripoli and territories in the West of the country, and the LNA under the command of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, which cooperates with the Parliament sitting in the East. The GNA is supported by Turkey, while the LNA is supported by Egypt.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti