Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani

Photo: MFA

Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

On June 11, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani who is currently in Moscow on a working visit.

The foreign ministers discussed in detail a broad range of current issues related to advancing friendly Russia-Bahrain relations and expressed support for maintaining regular political dialogue and intensifying the exchange of delegations. They underscored the importance of strengthening multifaceted trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian interaction. In this context, they noted the important coordinating role of the Russia-Bahrain Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

A comprehensive exchange of views took place on key international issues with positions of Moscow and Manama largely overlapping or close. A mutual commitment was reaffirmed to continue close coordination on multilateral platforms, primarily within the UN, including in light of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s election in January as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The importance of further joint work within the framework of the Russia-GCC Council Strategic Dialogue was emphasised, as it has proven to be an effective mechanism for exchanging views on key global and regional issues.

Special attention was paid to the situation in the Middle East, with a focus on the escalation surrounding Iran. The ministers stressed that there is no alternative to launching a full-fledged political and diplomatic process aimed at resolving the crisis, with unconditional respect for the interests of all countries in the region.

Sergey Lavrov noted that Russia consistently calls on the parties involved to refrain from steps that could lead to the resumption of a large-scale war and undermine ongoing efforts to overcome differences. He reaffirmed Russia’s firm support for Bahrain and other Arab states in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and denounced strikes on civilian infrastructure located in these countries as outright unacceptable.

The foreign ministers also underlined the importance of the early restoration of stable, unhindered, and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is of critical importance for the global economy. They exchanged views on the updated Russian Concept for Ensuring Collective Security in the Gulf Region.

Discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they placed emphasis on the importance of achieving a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensuring large-scale humanitarian deliveries, and rebuilding the Palestinian enclave devastated by hostilities. They reaffirmed the urgency of the earliest normalisation of the situation on the West Bank of the Jordan River and noted convergence of Russian and Bahraini approaches in favour of achieving a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue on the well-known international legal basis providing for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine coexisting in peace and security with Israel.

Sergey Lavrov provided his Bahraini counterpart with a detailed briefing on Russia’s principled approaches to settling the Ukraine-related conflict.

Opening remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Mr Minister,

My dear friend,

I am delighted to welcome you and your delegation to Moscow.

I remember your previous visit, which took place a while ago, in 2023, when you attended the 6th Ministerial Meeting of Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue.

The latest session of Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue was held in Sochi in September 2025.

We highly value the traditionally friendly nature of Russia-Bahrain relations. September 2025 marked the 35th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.

We have accomplished quite a lot over this period, particularly in expanding trade and economic ties, as well as financial, investment, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation.

Our respective leaders - President of Russia Vladimir Putin and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain - maintain contact. The main areas of bilateral relations and the coordination of our actions in the international arena are determined during their contacts.

We appreciated the fact that the Kingdom of Bahrain was represented at a high level at the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Bahraini delegation included Minister of Finance and National Economy Salman Al Khalifa and Minister of Industry and Commerce Abdullah Fakhro, who also serves as Co-Chair of the Russian-Bahraini Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

I look forward to discussing the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation and to exchange views in detail on the most important regional issues, including the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Once again, welcome, my dear friend.

***

Thank you for your kind words and your high assessment of Russia’s role in international affairs, including in the Middle East.

You are well aware of the fact that, for many years now, we have been advocating for bringing together all countries of the Gulf - the Arab monarchies and the Islamic Republic of Iran - in order to develop, with the support of their external partners, a Security Concept for the Gulf Region.

Just two weeks ago, we updated this concept and circulated it to all capitals, including Manama. We started receiving the first reactions. We hope that this particular approach - one that does not set Arabs and Iranians against one another, but instead brings them together through confidence-building measures and direct engagement - will help establish stability in the region.

We remain firmly committed to the principle of freedom of navigation in your region and around the world. We will have an opportunity to discuss all these matters in detail today.

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