Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Discussed End Immediate Dangers To Secure Peace
Sept. 15—The Eighth Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue took place in Sochi, Russia on Sept. 11, co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the current chair of the GCC, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Al Yahya. This was a pre-scheduled meeting, but the discussion clearly took on an emergency tone, given that it took place two days after the Israeli Air Force had carried out a bombing raid in Qatar’s capital, and as top Israeli officials openly declare their intent to cleanse Gaza of Palestinians, in order to annex it and the West Bank, too.
All six GCC nations were represented: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and U.A.E. by their Foreign Ministers; Saudi Arabia and Oman by their Deputy Foreign Ministers. The Secretary General of the GCC also participated. The Russian Foreign Ministry readout reported that “a substantive discussion of the state of affairs in the Middle East and North Africa, including the situation in the Gulf” had taken place, as “participants emphasized the importance of stepping up joint efforts in order to strengthen stability and security in this strategically important region of the world, using dialogue mechanisms to resolve disputes and to overcome crises by political and diplomatic means in strict compliance with international law.”
The ministers issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli strike on Doha as “a flagrant violation of international laws and norms, an assault on the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, and a deliberate undermining of diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving security and stability in the region,” and stressing “a clear and firm international position” is required, which hold “the international community morally, politically, and legally accountable, and leads to effective measures to deter Israel and end its repeated violations of the principles of international peace and security…. [T]he absence of a serious and decisive international stance will have grave repercussions on regional and international peace and security,” they warn.
Russia’s “Proposal on Collective Security in the Area of the Persian Gulf,” which has been discussed by the Foreign Ministries, experts and academics since it was presented in 2019, was also “revisited” in the Sept. 11 dialogue, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. “Russia maintains that fostering an atmosphere of peace and cooperation in the Gulf would align seamlessly with the spirit of the initiative advanced by President of Russia Vladimir Putin for establishing a Eurasian security architecture. This framework would be grounded in the principle of indivisible security for all nations across our vast Eurasian continent,” Lavrov reported.
“Great emphasis” was given to the immediate Palestine-Israeli crisis, but the situations in Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya and strengthening business cooperation, including in “promising areas such as the manufacturing industry, energy, transport, and agriculture” were among the other topics.
Lavrov noted that these discussions provide input for the first Russian-Arab Summit, which is to be held on Oct. 15 in Moscow.