MOSCOW: Arab countries have expressed willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in Moscow on Monday.
Mr Shoukry is part of an Arab League delegation that has visited Russia to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. The group will head to Poland on Tuesday to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Warsaw.
After talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit outlined the negative effects of the Ukraine war on the economies of Arab states, including the disruption of wheat imports and higher energy prices.
But the delegation’s concern goes beyond the interests of Arab nations, he said.
“We must confess that Arab nations have interests and those interests must be defended from the viewpoint of each individual state,” Mr Aboul Gheit said.
“But we don’t look at the matter from only an Arab perspective. We see the need to defend peace and stability in the world.”
The Arab ministers held an online meeting on Saturday in preparation for their visit, Egypt’s Al Ahram newspaper reported.
The Arab League is ready to assist efforts to find a political settlement to the conflict, Russia’s Tass news agency quoted the group’s assistant secretary general Hossam Zaki as saying.
Speaking at the UN Security Council session on March 23, Mr Aboul Gheit urged world powers to reach a solution to the war and serve the interests of all sides.
He said he hoped the conflict would not affect the UN’s role in tackling other issues and crises, especially in the Arab region.
Along with the general impact on the global economy, many Arab states are facing a disruption of wheat supplies because of the war.
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