DR ‹ › During the second ministerial conference of the Russia-African Union Partnership Forum held in Cairo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov engaged in talks with his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf. According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the discussions centered on «priorities for strengthening the deep strategic partnership between Russia and Algeria». «An in-depth exchange of views took place on pressing issues on the global and regional agenda, including the situation in the Middle East and the Sahara-Sahel region», the statement highlighted. The Algerian diplomatic service mirrored this language, previously employed by Moscow during discussions between Lavrov and Attaf last September in New York, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. This meeting in Cairo comes as Algeria's tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is set to conclude on December 31, 2025. The forthcoming months will be pivotal for the future of MINURSO. Algiers is hopeful that Russia will assume a more proactive stance to postpone any potential changes to the UN mission's mandate in Western Sahara. This matter is anticipated to be reviewed by the Council's fifteen members next April.
