Respect for territorial integrity, salient theme in Russia-Arab cooperation forum

The Russia-Arab cooperation forum in Marrakech urged full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and urged non-interference in domestic issues.

This came in the final statement of the forum, attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and hosted by his Moroccan peer Nasser Boourita.

Several states in the region struggle with the separatist threat and interferences in their domestic issues.

Algeria has armed and backed financially and diplomatically the Polisario militias nurturing a plot to take over southern Moroccan territories.

On the Sahara in particular, Lavrov reiterated at a press conference his country’s support for a political solution based on UN Security Council resolutions.

The most recent resolution has reaffirmed the relevance of Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious, credible, and realistic.

The final declaration also stressed the need to respect the territorial integrity of Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

On Iran-Arab relations, the declaration urged peace and neighborliness, while stressing the need to refrain from intervening in domestic affairs of other states.

The call comes amid increasing malign actions from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, as other Iranian proxies continue to sow instability in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.

The Russia-Arab forum also called for guaranteeing the free flow and safety of maritime traffic in the Gulf and the Red Sea, disrupted recently by Houthi piracy.