Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Ferhan bin Abdullah Al Saud in Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held both bilateral and interdelegation meetings with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Ferhan Bin Abdullah Al Saud At The Residence Of The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs In The Capital Moscow. Speaking before the meeting, Lavrov said that they will evaluate the steps to be taken regarding the development of common interests in the international arena, as well as the economic agreements between the two countries.
After the closed-door meeting, the two ministers held a joint press conference and made statements on the agenda. Stating that the developments in the world market do not prevent their cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Lavrov said, “Cooperations with Saudi Arabia in both energy and other fields are not affected by market fluctuations.” Underlining that they are also dependent on the decisions taken by the OPEC+ group countries, Lavrov said, “These agreements will be in effect until the end of this year, and then new decisions will be made with the OPEC+ group member countries.”
GRAIN AGREEMENT Making statements regarding the grain agreement signed in Istanbul with the efforts of Turkey against the world food crisis due to the war between Ukraine and Russia and which will expire on March 18, Lavrov said, “The first part of the agreement is the safe export of Ukrainian grain from Ukrainian ports over the Black
Sea . “The second part is the removal of all obstacles to the export of Russian grain and Russian fertilizers. The first part is implemented. We, as the Russian Federation, fulfill all our obligations in this regard together with our Turkish colleagues. The second part is not implemented at all.”
Expressing that there is uncertainty about whether the agreement will be extended or not, Lavrov said, “If we are talking about an agreement, it is a package agreement. If the package is implemented halfway, the renewal issue may become complicated.”
“UN SECRETARY GENERAL SHOULD BE IMPACT”
Lavrov, criticizing the attitude of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Ukraine’s capital Kiev, on Ukraine, said, “Thanks to the UN Secretary General’s clear signing of Ukraine’s unilateral demands. “I’m very sorry, according to the UN charter, an international bureaucrat has to be impartial as the leading administrative official at the UN. He failed to do that once again,” he said.
Lavrov also stated that Guterres remained unresponsive to the clarification of the attacks on the Nord Stream Pipelines. Speaking about the situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, which poses the greatest risk in the ongoing war in Ukraine, Lavrov said, “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) President Rafael Grossi has been supporting the agreement on the creation of a safe zone around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant for months. He has been actively working with Rafael Grossi. “We formed a union. We were close to the agreement and we supported it. However, this agreement was blocked by the Kiev regime, which placed prisoner exchange terms and preconditions against the creation of a safe zone around the plant,” he said.
