The United Arab Emirates welcomes Russia's initiatives to ensure security in the Persian Gulf region, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Monday at a press conference following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"We certainly welcome Russia's efforts in this direction. We aim to unite and intensify efforts in our region to make our states more modern and modernized," he said.
The UAE Foreign Minister said there is room for improvement in the Persian Gulf region. "We need, first and foremost, to keep our region from becoming an area that contains weapons of mass destruction," he said.
The diplomat also stressed the need to prevent a return to neocolonialist ideas in the region and to counter extremism.
The concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf zone was announced by Russia in July 2019. The prospective strategic goal outlined in the document is to create a holistic mechanism of collective security and cooperation in the region with the involvement of all local states on an equal basis.
Stabilization of the situation in Libya
The UAE is cooperating with Russia on the early resolution of the conflict in Libya, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.
"This country [Libya] has faced many challenges since the fall of power. After two failed attempts to hold elections there, the situation has worsened. Added to this, the terrorist groups, which have become more active because of the external supply of weapons, have also become more active," the minister said. - "All of this has negatively affected the security situation. <...> Together with Russia, we are working to stabilize the situation there".
The UAE Foreign Minister noted that the leaders of the two countries participated in an international conference on Libya in Berlin and spoke in favor of a political solution to the crisis.
"We will continue our efforts with our partners on the Berlin platform as well as the Arab League to stabilize Libya as soon as possible," he summarized.
The conference on the settlement in Libya at the level of heads of state and government was held in Berlin on January 19. In the final document, the participants of the meeting called for a ceasefire, pledged to refrain from interfering in the affairs of this country, proposed to establish a unified government and launch reforms to restore statehood, which was destroyed by NATO intervention almost 10 years ago.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS