Lebanon's Hariri Leaves Russian Foreign Ministry After Hour-Long Talk With Lavrov

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published April 16, 2021 | 04:40 PM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has left the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after an hour-long talk with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Friday.

The meeting took place as part of Hariri's visit to Moscow on the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The Lebanese official arrived at the ministry at about 08:00 GMT to discuss the situation in his country, where the government is being formed at the moment, as well as bilateral and regional issues.

Before meeting with Lavrov, Hariri met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the prime minister.

"We presume that these were useful negotiations. We will promote the issues that you discussed, including economic cooperation, [and] assistance to Lebanon in improving the economy. We are ready to continue our cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus. We are concerned about the political situation in and around Lebanon," Lavrov said in his opening remarks, as cited by the Russian ministry.

The visit of the Lebanese prime minister-designate came amid pressure on the ruling elite at home to form a government following mass protests triggered by the deteriorating political and economic situation since the fall of 2019.