DOHA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Doha to take part in the international political science forum Doha Forum. The...
DOHA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Doha to take part in the international political science forum Doha Forum. The Russian minister flew to the capital of Qatar from Malta, where he spoke at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE Foreign Ministers Council).
In Valletta, Malta, instead of engaging in dialogue on three security tracks the majority of participants focused on spreading accusations against Russia in connection with the Ukrainian conflict. In his speech Lavrov noted that the current OSCE has no areas left where it could be at least somehow useful within the framework of its tasks.
However, at the Doha Forum one can expect a discussion that will focus on finding approaches to solving global issues. A meeting of the ministers of the Astana Process countries is also planned amid the escalation of the situation in Syria.
About forum
The Doha Forum is an international conference that has been held in the Qatari capital since 2003. This year, the event will be held on December 7-8 at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel.
The forum participants will discuss a wide range of issues related to international security, energy transition and sustainable economic development. The conference will feature the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
The forum in Doha will be held in the context of escalating regional tensions in connection with events in Syria, where government troops are resisting the advance of militants of the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia) and its allies, who attacked Aleppo and other settlements in northern Syria on November 27.
For the second year in a row, the conference in the Qatari capital will be held in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas since October 2023. In late November last year, with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, the parties to the conflict agreed to introduce a ceasefire and release some of the hostages, but the humanitarian truce was soon violated and hostilities resumed.
On December 5, AFP reported citing a source, that Doha had resumed mediation to achieve a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave. The topic of resolving the crisis in Gaza will be one of the key topics on the sidelines of the forum.
Meeting on Syria
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously said that a meeting of representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey, the guarantor countries of the Astana Process, would take place on the sidelines of the Doha Forum amid the escalation in Syria. Lavrov noted on Thursday that the parties were to meet before the end of this week.
The Astana format includes Russia, Iran and Turkey as guarantor countries of the process for resolving the Syrian crisis, as well as representatives of the Syrian government and opposition, the UN and observer countries - Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon. Qatar is not participating in the Astana Process and is the only country in the world where the Syrian embassy is headed by representatives of the opposition.
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