Lavrov says Russia is ready to mediate in the Gulf crisis

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced today that his country is willing to mediate in the crisis between Qatar and the Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia, if a request is made for him to do so, Anadolu has reported.

“Some time ago, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council along with Egypt, started to boycott Qatar,” Lavrov told the Russian news agency Sputnik. “We are ready to be involved as mediators to solve any conflict upon request from all parties, but we have not been asked to get involved yet.”

The Russian minister pointed out that Moscow maintains good relations with all countries, including those within the GCC. “I know that the US administration is trying to reconcile the conflicting parties and persuade Saudi Arabia and its closest allies to make peace with Qatar,” he added.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed a siege on Qatar since June 2017, after accusing the government in Doha of sponsoring terrorism. Qatar denied these allegations and accused the other countries in turn of undermining its sovereignty and violating its independent decision making processes.

READ: Lavrov discusses Russia’s vision for Gulf security with Saudi counterpart