Lavrov presses Gulf security plan in Manama before Tehran mission

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Manama on Sunday, where the two sides stressed the importance of coordination to bolster regional security and protect waterways and trade routes, the Bahrain News Agency reported (AA).

Lavrov, who arrived in the Gulf kingdom on Saturday, took part on Sunday in the ninth joint ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Russia (A News). The king reaffirmed the two sides’ “mutual commitment to expanding cooperation across various sectors”, according to the agency.

But the dialogue also carried a harder message: GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al Budaiwi pressed Moscow to use its ties with Tehran to press Iran to stop attacks on Gulf targets, The National reported (Silent Dossier; Particle).

Lavrov flies to Tehran on Monday for talks on “ways to resolve the acute international crisis”, Russia’s foreign ministry said. In Manama he told reporters the June memorandum framework “still contains everything necessary to shift the situation”, according to TASS — the Islamabad memorandum, the US-Iranian understanding reached in June.

The shuttle diplomacy comes amid severe disruption to the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on 28 February (Yeni Safak), with the waterway hit this weekend by a third tanker mine incident in three days.