Prime Minister Saad Hariri received today at his hotel in Rome the Russian Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, in the presence of his chief of staff Nader Hariri and his advisor for Russian affairs Georges Chaaban.
After the meeting, Bogdanov said: “We discussed with Prime Minister Hariri the importance of the Rome II Conference. We are participating in it at the invitation of Prime Minister Hariri and the Italian government. We have a fruitful cooperation with Lebanon since a long time in various fields, including enhancing the combat capabilities of the army so that it can fight against Daesh and Nusra. We are cooperating in more than one area with the government, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior in training cadres and exchanging information on cross-border crimes and terrorism.
We also discussed cooperation between Lebanon and Russia. We are very pleased with the political dialogue between our two countries at the highest levels and the developments in and around Lebanon, the crisis in Syria, the situation in the Gulf and Palestine and the settlement in the Middle East. Lebanon is one of the most important countries in the region. It also has some problems with Israel regarding borders, water and security. We always support the legitimate interests of our friends in Lebanon and we demand that everyone respects Lebanon’s sovereignty and political, economic and security interests.
We also discussed the question of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other countries. This is a very complicated issue, especially with regard to the economic, social and humanitarian situation in Lebanon. We agreed to continue contacts and push things in the right direction in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation based on mutual benefit.”
Hariri also met with the Saudi Assistant Defense Minister Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh, in the presence of ministers Nouhad Machnouk and Gebran Bassil, the head of the Saudi diplomatic mission in Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari and Hariri’s chief of staff Nader Hariri.
Source: National News Agency
