Sergey Lavrov: “We saw once again today that the Russia-GCC format is working well and its prospects are good”

Photo: MFA

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi following the 8th ministerial meeting of the Russia–GCC Strategic Dialogue.

Sochi, September 11, 2025

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have just concluded the eighth ministerial meeting of the Russia – Gulf Cooperation Council Strategic Dialogue, which, as is traditional, was conducted in an open, businesslike, and constructive manner. The Strategic Dialogue format, initiated in 2011, has once again demonstrated its high relevance as an effective mechanism for strengthening foreign policy coordination between the Russian Federation and the six Arab states.

We discussed in detail the full range of our bilateral and international issues. Various aspects of trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties were thoroughly examined. We noted significant expansion in collaboration across industry, energy, agriculture, transport, healthcare, education, tourism, and banking.

We welcomed the continued growth in mutual trade. Since 2011, when our Strategic Dialogue was first launched, trade has increased more than sevenfold. There is also positive momentum in investments from GCC member states in the Russian economy, with cumulative volumes now exceeding $26 billion. It is encouraging that Russian capital investments in Gulf countries are also increasing reciprocally. We agreed to continue efforts to strengthen these positive trends by utilising all available mechanisms, primarily through intergovernmental commissions – which exist between Russia and each of the six countries – as well as via Business Councils.

We agreed to prepare swiftly for the ninth meeting of our Strategic Dialogue, which will take place in the Gulf region. Following the proposal of the GCC Secretary-General, we will establish a working group tasked with developing concrete initiatives for the next round of our Strategic Dialogue in the immediate future.

Today, we reaffirmed once again the importance of maintaining effective coordination within OPEC+ and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. Our shared interest lies in ensuring stability in global oil markets and safeguarding the legitimate interests of gas exporters.

We discussed international and regional issues at length and confirmed the alignment, or substantial proximity, of our approaches towards resolving crises in the Middle East and beyond. Crucially, this pertains to the unconditional adherence to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interconnection. We firmly believe this is the path towards sustainable resolution to any conflicts persisting in the region and elsewhere in the world.

Special emphasis was placed on the need to resolve the Palestinian issue, which remains central to the region. We are very indignant about yet another escalation in the Middle East following the Israeli airstrike on Doha, the capital of Qatar, on September 9. We unequivocally condemn this Israeli action. We stressed the inadmissibility of repeating such acts against sovereign states under any pretext. We underscored that an armed attack on a country serving as a key mediator in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas – particularly concerning ceasefire terms in Gaza – will only undermine international efforts to achieve peaceful resolutions.

We also noted a sheer lack of logic in Israel’s actions. It is absurd to demand Hamas fulfil conditions for a ceasefire while simultaneously seeking to eliminate its leadership – the very negotiators themselves. This contradicts the repeatedly stated interest of the United States, Israel’s closest ally, in ensuring successful negotiations between Israel and Hamas. On this matter, we adopted a Joint Statement today, which will be distributed to media representatives and published on relevant platforms.

We reaffirmed our principled and consistent position that achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is only possible on the basis of existing international legal frameworks, grounded in the two-state solution. It is our shared conviction that, otherwise, peace in the Middle East will remain elusive. The current situation, marked by the most egregious violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, will only fuel extremist tendencies across the entire region.

We are committed to maintaining close collaboration with our Arab partners on all aspects of the Middle East agenda. The situation here extends far beyond Palestine. We also discussed developments in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan. Our shared view is that consolidated efforts must continue to forge political compromises to existing problems and contradictions, taking into account the interests of all parties involved and the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.

We examined the situation in the Persian Gulf region. We support initiatives being discussed within the Gulf Cooperation Council to stabilise the area, including the normalisation of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. We stand ready to assist these efforts to the extent that the parties involved deem appropriate.

Today, we revisited the key elements of Russia’s concept for collective security in the Persian Gulf zone. This proposal has been under discussion for several years at the foreign ministries’ level, with input from expert and academic communities. Together with all interested regional and extra-regional states, we are prepared to develop approaches to ensuring stability and security in this region, recognising that the decisive voice must belong to the nations of this strategically vital area.

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.

Special attention was devoted to the inaugural Russia-Arab Summit, scheduled for October 15 in Moscow. We are pleased that the majority of GCC member-state leaders have already accepted invitations to this historic event. Today’s meeting serves as a crucial preparatory step for the summit.

Of course, we also discussed the situation in Ukraine. We shared our assessment of recent developments, including in light of the Russian-American talks held in Alaska. We have sensed – and continue to sense – a desire on the part of the United States to understand the root causes of this conflict and to advance a settlement model that addresses the factors that led to the current crisis. I refer specifically to attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO, including through the orchestration of a state coup in February 2014, as well as the Ukrainian regime’s legislative efforts to ban all things Russian, thereby undermining the legitimate rights of vast numbers of Crimeans, Donbass residents, and the people of Novorossiya, in flagrant violation of the UN Charter’s maxim that human rights must be upheld regardless of race, sex, religion, or language.

Language and religion – these are precisely what the current regime in Kiev has outlawed with respect to Russian-speaking and ethnic Russian citizens of Ukraine. This is an unprecedented act. Nowhere else in the world is any language prohibited – not Hebrew in Arab states, nor Arabic in Israel. The Kiev regime has sought to outdo all others in this regard.

We are grateful to our friends on the Arabian Peninsula for their balanced stance on the Ukrainian crisis, which they have maintained from the outset and reaffirmed today. We value the efforts of GCC member states to facilitate humanitarian solutions stemming from the crisis, including the repatriation of children to their families.

In closing, I would like to thank our Arab partners for this productive collaboration. I hope you will still find time to explore the sights of the beautiful city of Sochi.

We will undoubtedly continue our close partnership in preparing for the next round of the Strategic Dialogue, which is set to take place in 2026 in one of the GCC member states.

Question: Where does Russia stand on the Gulf countries’ security situation following the Israeli strike on the Hamas office in Doha? Does Moscow think the Strategic Dialogue with the GCC can be used as a venue for advancing initiatives on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement? Is this settlement even possible after what Israel just did?

Sergey Lavrov: Without a doubt, we regard the Strategic Dialogue platform as something more than a venue to exchange opinions. We also use it to come up with agreed-upon and close approaches for advancing in a broader format, including the UN, Russia’s relations with the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in order to get the process underway, or rather pull the settlement process back from where it is now, namely, on the brink of the abyss. It may well turn out that they will force on us the viewpoint promoted by Israel, which claims a Palestinian state is not needed, and the Palestinians need to be resettled and, following the ethnic cleansing, an entity controlled by Israel should be created in Gaza Strip. This is a very dangerous approach.

As we were exchanging opinions in a closed format today, everyone agreed that the unresolved Palestinian issue was the root cause of all the troubles in the Middle East, because the solemnly promised by the General Assembly for 80 years now Palestinian state, which was to be created concurrently with the State of Israel, has not so far been proclaimed.

If you look at the map, much has changed since the time the General Assembly resolution was adopted. Already in 1967, the map underwent significant changes. If you look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank now... The Netanyahu government has adopted an unprecedented decision to build new settlements in unheard of numbers. The isolated dots on the map of the West Bank are now merging to form a blot.

There is word that someone in Israel is already discussing an option of creating one or two Palestinian municipalities on the West Bank instead of a state which is alarming news that is growing bigger. We are discussing this with our US colleagues and trying to convey the idea that without eliminating the root cause, which is taking the right to their own state away from the Palestinians, expecting the situation in the Middle East to calm down is an exercise in futility, and the extremist sentiment will be stirred even more if that state of affairs remains unchanged. The right to their own state where the Palestinians would run their own lives was vocally announced by the UN back in the day.

A parallel with the importance of eliminating the root causes can be seen in the Ukraine crisis, the underlying causes of which are known well. In addition to drawing Ukraine into NATO and creating direct threats to the security of the Russian Federation, the root cause is, as in the case of Palestine, the fact that the right of the Russian-speaking people to live on the lands of their ancestors has been take away. Instead, they were told not to speak their language and not to teach children in their language. Russian-language media have been banned as well. The latest stunt pulled by the Kiev regime includes a ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Just like in the case of the Palestinians, the Ukrainian authorities, which do not reflect the interests of these people, are trying to dictate their future to residents of Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya. It doesn’t work that way. The UN Charter states the need to respect human rights, including the right to language and religion. This, by all means, must be taken into account.

Let me make it clear that our friends understand this stance of ours, as do most of our colleagues from the World Majority countries. We note, in particular, that the United States realises the importance of not pitting Ukraine against Russia, and not supplying weapons to that country which only serves to throw more Ukrainians into the furnace of war.  They are aware that the root causes of the crisis must be dealt with in the first place. To reiterate, we will use this approach to develop a dialogue with the United States and all our other colleagues who are willing to help us arrive at mutually acceptable solutions.

Regarding the attack on the Hamas office in Doha, we stated earlier that this was an absolutely unacceptable thing to do. In addition to the geopolitical aspects and practical consequences in the form of what can even emerge as insurmountable obstacles to the further development of the dialogue in order to resolve the hostages and the hostilities situation, the lives of ordinary residents of Doha were imperiled as well. The target of the attack - the building that was destroyed - is located next to about ten foreign embassies. A nearby road is used by our Embassy employees as they go to work. Several petrol stations are sitting close to the building that came under the attack.

We saw once again today that the Russia-GCC format is working well and its prospects are good. The most important thing is to develop approaches that will make it possible for us to come to practical solutions at the UN and other venues.

Question (retranslated from Arabic): A Russian-Arab summit will be held in Moscow in October. Have you discussed preparations for it? How important is it for us?

Sergey Lavrov: We discussed this important event, which will take place in a little over a month. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, almost all of our colleagues have confirmed participation at the top level.

We roughly outlined the topics that may need extra attention. Experts are drafting the final declaration and the 2026-2028 Russia-GCC action plan.

In order to finalise these important documents, a ministerial meeting of the GCC countries and the Russian Federation will be held in Moscow two days before the summit on October 13. We will submit the drafts to the heads of state for approval.

Speaking of the agenda, in preparations for the summit, we will take into account everything that happened in Doha and everything that will follow in the context of a response to this act of aggression, including the UN Security Council, which will review this situation today, and the extraordinary LAS-OIC summit, and possible international community’s further efforts. We will put together materials, proposals and initiatives to be reviewed by President Putin and leaders of the Arabian Group of Six. The strikes on Doha will have negative consequences for the entire region.

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