On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met last night in New York with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, according to Moroccan diplomatic sources. «During this meeting, the ministers discussed several pressing issues on their bilateral agenda, including the schedule for upcoming contacts at various levels», Moscow said in a statement. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining close coordination of foreign policies in order to address ongoing crises in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahara-Sahel region through political and diplomatic means, in line with international law. They also stressed «the central role of the UN» in resolving these conflicts. Just days earlier, on September 19, Bourita had held a phone call with Lavrov. These talks come as Russia prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in October, a pivotal moment for Morocco, which has been working for months with the United States and France to secure a decisive resolution on the Sahara. To succeed, the Kingdom must persuade Russia, along with China, not to exercise their veto power. A few hours before the UN meeting between Bourita and Lavrov, Algeria's army chief, General Saïd Chengriha, hosted a Russian delegation led by Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
