Russia calls for building confidence between Gulf nations, Iran - Lavrov

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Moscow is certain it is essential to normalize relations and build trust between the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) and Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday following a ministerial session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum. "We drew attention to a well-known Russian initiative to promote the process of building trust and transparency between the Arab states of the Gulf and Iran," he said. "The declaration, which was endorsed today, highlights the importance of normalizing and cultivating ties between the Arabs and Iran for the benefit of peace and stability. I believe this is a very useful decision." The CCASG member-states (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia) and Iran have substantial disagreements on a number of regional issues, including the situation in Yemen and Syria. Riyadh, which backs Yemen’s government forces, believes that Tehran supports Houthi rebels and supplies weapons to them. Besides, some regional countries are opposed to Iran's military presence in Syria. Relations between the Gulf countries and Iran deteriorated further in January 2016, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar terminated diplomatic relations with the republic, and the United Arab Emirates downgraded its diplomatic ties with Iran. That happened after the Saudi Embassy in Tehran was attacked by protesters outraged over the execution of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Read more