OREANDA-NEWS. March 4, 2008. As part of the working visit to Moscow of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen Abu Bakr Abdallah Al-Qirbi, he had a meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on April 30. Al-Qirbi conveyed a personal message from President Ali Abdallah Salih of Yemen to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin reaffirming the line of the Yemeni leadership on strengthening strategic relations with Russia.

In discussing global and regional issues, the sides noted that Russia and Yemen stand firmly for the creation of a multipolar world based on a consolidated central role for the UN in the system of international relations and for the settlement of existing conflicts by political means. They expressed rejection of all forms and manifestations of terrorism and extremism and emphasized the mutual striving to actively promote the dialogue of civilizations. The Russian side gave a high assessment of the contribution of President Ali Abdallah Salih of Yemen in questions of the role of Islam as a religion of tolerance.

In the context of the examination of the regional situation the sides reaffirmed their commitment to a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East on the basis of international law, the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative. They expressed support for talks between PNA Head Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on substantive issues of a final settlement. They underscored the necessity of overcoming the split in Palestinian ranks, to which the initiative of Yemeni President Salih may contribute.

Coinciding assessments featured the discussion of the situation surrounding Lebanon. The top priority here is to prevent destabilization and to settle the internal political crisis as soon as possible.

The sides spoke for normalizing the situation in Iraq on the basis of national reconciliation and the involvement of all political and ethno-confessional forces at the earliest possible time, and underlined the importance of international and regional assistance to this process.

Concern was expressed over the development of the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program, noting that there is no alternative to the politico-diplomatic way of resolving the problem.

The sides thoroughly examined the question of ensuring security in the strategically important Persian Gulf zone. Al-Qirbi highly assessed the Russian concept envisaging gradual movement towards creating a system of collective security in the sub-region involving all the states located there, as also other interested sides.

Themes of bilateral relations figured prominently in the talks. Having expressed satisfaction with the level of political mutual understanding, the sides accentuated the necessity of intensifying economic and commercial cooperation, particularly with the use of the new investment possibilities opening up in Yemen.