Russian foreign minister to visit Maghreb countries

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia on Jan. 23-26, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman announced on Thursday.

Lavrov will discuss bilateral relations and key regional and international issues with his counterparts in the Maghreb nations and other top officials during his tour, Maria Zakharova said at a news conference in Moscow.

"Algiers, Rabat and Tunis are pursuing an active foreign policy and are making a significant contribution to multilateral efforts to find answers to new challenges and threats, including global ones. Better coordination with them fully corresponds to Russian interests," she said.

Particular importance will be paid to the reconciliation of approaches to the existing problems of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as of the Sahara and Sahel zone, Zakharova said.

"Russia's principled position is that the people, living in this region, are able and must independently, without external interference, determine their future, solving internal problems through internal national dialogue. This, in particular, fully applies to the further overcoming of conflicts in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Lebanon, Mali, the cessation of violence and suffering of civilians there," she said.