Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Maher arrived in Moscow Thursday evening to discuss developing Russian-Egyptian ties and means to ease the tension in the Middle East.
Maher, a former ambassador to Russia, described his visit to Moscow as a "visit of friendship."
Upon his arrival, he conveyed that he had brought with him a message from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to KUNA.
"This message expresses Egypt's intention to develop close cooperation with Russia in all spheres and actively cooperate on the international arena," Maher said.
In addition, he said he was glad to get an opportunity to once again visit Moscow, where he served as Egypt's ambassador to Russia until the year 1992.
He expressed confidence that his talks in Moscow would be very useful. "The situation in the Middle East is very serious, and we are aware of a very substantial role which Russia might play as a traditional friend of (the) Arab people," he said.
Maher is scheduled to meet with Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov and head of the international relations committee of the Duma Dimitri Ragozin, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. He is also due to meet with Russian senators and President of the Russian chamber of commerce and industry Yvgeny Primakov. (Albawaba.com)
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