Persian Gulf states, Russia stress importance of maintaining Syria’s sovereignty, integrity

According to the document, “The ministers [of foreign affairs] stressed the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity, independence, unity, and sovereignty of Syria and expressed support for the efforts of [UN Secretary General’s] Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.”

The parties also welcomed the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and expressed their hope that the normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia “would be a positive step towards resolving differences and ending all regional disputes through diplomacy and dialogue.

At the same time, the ministers stressed the need to respect regional sovereignty, the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, the UN Charter and international law.

Russia and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council member states have agreed to cooperate in the area of nuclear energy, according to the statement.

“The sides have agreed <…> to strengthen cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy, nuclear security, power industry, energy efficiency, renewable energy, production of green hydrogen, as well as technologies of low-carbon circular economy with the purpose of reducing emissions,” the statement read.