Egypt, Russia discuss cooperation to end Syrian crisis

CAIRO – 13 May 2017: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed mutual cooperation as well as a number of regional issues in a phone call on Friday, a Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry statement said.

The two ministers discussed stands on the crisis in Syria, while taking into consideration the outcomes of the 4th International Meeting on the Syrian Settlement that took place in Astana, Kazakhstan on May 3.

The statement added that Shoukry and Lavrov discussed more flexible approaches towards reaching a political settlement for the armed conflict in Syria.
During the call, the two ministers showed keenness to boost dialogue and cooperation between Egypt and Russia in various fields.

They both stressed the significant importance of fighting terrorism and the evacuation of mass destruction weapons in the Middle East region.

The Astana process talks on Syria ended with the signing of a document envisaging the creation of four “de-escalation zones” in areas where no military activity would be allowed; the memorandum was signed by Russia, Turkey and Iran.