Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri held on Monday expanded political talks during his visit to Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

In a press statement, Spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zaid said that during the meeting, Shoukri handed a message from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

In the message, Sisi underlined that Egypt appreciates the special ties binding the two countries and voiced Egypt's keenness on enhancing such ties with Russia to higher levels. 

Shoukri expressed appreciation for the level of the current partnership and strategic dialogue between the two countries within the framework of 2+2 dialogue between the foreign and defense ministries of the two countries.

Egypt is the sixth country, and the only Arab country, to get engaged with Russia through the 2+2 strategic dialogue at the level of foreign and defense ministers which reflects the growing bilateral relations on all political and strategic levels, Spokesman added.

During the meeting, they tackled the latest regional developments and issues in addition to boosting cooperation to counter terrorism on both security and intellectual levels.

They also discussed bilateral coordination in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and other international forums.

Lavrov pointed out that the dynamic situation in the Middle East requires continuous coordination and consultations between the two countries and Russia is keen on listening to the Egyptian perspective as they both act according to a similar ground that aims at solving conflicts in the Middle East.

Source: MENA