Russian Foreign Minister to visit Egypt, United States

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will on March 9-13 visit Cairo and New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East, in particular in Syria. Lavrov will by in Egypt on March 9-10. He will meet with his counterparts from the Arab League in Cairo to exchange opinions on the key issues on the international and regional agenda. The minister will also hold talks with Egypt’s de facto leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and other officials. Then Lavrov will head to New York, where the Middle East Quartet of international mediators will meet on March 12 on the sidelines of a UN Security Council meeting. Russia has been seen in the West as the staunchest supporter of the Bashar Assad regime as it has used its veto right in the UN Security Council to block a resolution calling on the Syrian leader to end violence. Moscow insists that both the government and “armed terrorist gangs” operating in Syria should be held responsible for the unrest that has claimed over 7,500 lives, according to the UN.