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The message reads, in particular:

”I am glad to be able to use this opportunity to address you, the leaders of the Arab world.

Russia has always considered the League of Arab States a reliable partner in confirming multilateral and legal principles in world politics and values the significant contribution the League has made towards constructing a just multipolar world order, and finding political and diplomatic settlements to crisis situations.

These approaches are particularly relevant today. The situation in the region remains unstable. Attempts to provoke conflicts between civilizations and religions are multiplying. These disturbing trends are due to imbalances in the system of international relations. We are witnessing counterproductive policies relying on the unilateral use of force, and the desire to monopolise conflict settlements. These actions significantly reduce the possibility of giving priority to political and diplomatic mechanisms of conflict settlement.

I will emphasise that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a member of the G8, and the Quartet of international mediators, Russia will continue to emphasise collective action and the search for consensual approaches to the whole range of regional issues.

Our principled stance to the region problems remains the same: the lack of settlement in the Arab-Israeli conflict is at the root of the problem. In connection with this, we must commit to making a comprehensive review of the state of affairs in the Middle Eastern settlement and relaunch all negotiating proposals including the Lebanese and Syrian ones.

UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515, existing agreements, and of course initiatives such as the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative will serve as a sound international legal basis for resolving these problems. The inter-Palestinian agreements reached at Mecca in February 2007 made an important contribution in this regard.

The need and demand for a comprehensive approach to Middle Eastern issues is visible every day. In our view, this could be achieved by convening a representative conference on the Middle East with broad international participation. We are grateful to the Arab countries and the leadership of the Arab League for supporting our initiative. We intend to continue to develop it further.

The way the situation is developing in Iraq is a matter of grave concern. We need to quickly obtain genuine national reconciliation and agreement in order to prevent the country from sliding into a full-fledged civil war and disintegration process. Implementing this priority task will be made possible by engaging in a wide dialogue with the members of major Iraqi political forces, various ethnic and religious groups. Simultaneously, one must clearly define the time frame that foreign armed forces will remain in the country.

We call on all political groups and forces of Lebanon to resolve their differences within a constitutional framework and through patient dialogue. Outside interference in this process is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. I am confident that it is in the interests of the Lebanese and all the peoples of the region that peace and stability reign in Lebanon.

Russia will help with the process of finding a settlement with other regional problems as well. We believe that the only reasonable approach to the tasks at hand is to find a mutually acceptable negotiated solution based on international law.

The common fight against terrorism and extremism remains within our purview. We proceed from the fact that neither these phenomena nor other new threats and challenges have a religious or civilizational identity.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasise again that strengthening multilateral cooperation with the countries of the League was, and will remain a strategic aspect of Russia’s foreign policy. A firm belief that Russian-Arab cooperation is in the interests of ensuring peace, security and prosperity for our countries and peoples underlies this choice“.