CIS foreign ministers meet in Moscow

Foreign ministers of member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States met in Moscow on April 18. The meeting focused on the unprecedented escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf region, according to TASS.

“Pressing international issues were discussed. Particular attention was naturally given to various aspects of the unprecedented escalation in the Persian Gulf caused by the military actions of the United States and Israel against Iran,” said Sergey Lavrov at a press conference following the meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.

He added that the ministers adopted a special statement on the issue.

“The crisis in the Persian Gulf has effectively spread across the entire Middle East, significantly influencing broader trends across the Eurasian continent, including approaches to ensuring security in various subregions. At the same time, the reliability and security of supply routes for energy resources, food, and fertilizers remain critically important. All these factors must be reassessed in the context of improving our broader concept of developing the Greater Eurasian Partnership with the participation of integration associations such as the CIS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as in shaping a common approach to building a security architecture across Eurasia,” Lavrov said.

The meeting was attended by Bakhtiyor Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, along with Maksim Ryzhenkov, Yerlan Kosherbayev, Jeenbek Kulubaev, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Samir Sharifov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Mnatsakan Safaryan, and CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev.