CAIRO: In a speech at the Arab League in Cairo, Russia’s foreign minister praised member states’ “balanced, just and responsible position” on his country’s conflict with Ukraine.
Sergey Lavrov also emphasized Russia’s determination to deepen cooperation and trade with Arab states.
Regarding Ukraine, he said: “NATO has no right to expand its security at the expense of others, especially Russia.”
Lavrov denied that the global food crisis was caused by the conflict, instead blaming the coronavirus pandemic, drought, and Western sanctions on Russian food, fertilizer and grain.
Before his speech, he met with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and representatives of the 22 nations that make up the bloc. Aboul Gheit said he and Lavrov discussed Ukraine, Syria and Palestine.
Lavrov landed in Cairo on Saturday, at the beginning of his tour of Africa that also includes Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.