Saint Vincent, Russia Share Same Values, Must Further Develop Relations - Prime Minister

Saint Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Sputnik that Russia and the Caribbean country share the same values on a number of pressing global issues, and can use this convergence of opinion to further deepen relations, ahead of a scheduled meeting between Gonsalves and acting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) Saint Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told Sputnik that Russia and the Caribbean country share the same values on a number of pressing global issues, and can use this convergence of opinion to further deepen relations, ahead of a scheduled meeting between Gonsalves and acting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday.

"On the broad fundamental questions we [Saint Vincent and Russia] share a similar perspective; we go for a multilateral world, we don't support any quest for hegemony in a unilateralist way. We believe that global challenges require multilateral solutions codified in international laws, which must be followed," Gonsalves stated.

The Saint Vincent and Grenadines prime minister outlined that both Russia and his country are unified in their opinion towards the equality of states, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. Both countries also oppose foreign interference in a state's domestic affairs, Gonsalves added.

These commonalities, the prime minister stated, could also be used as a framework to further deepen relations between Russia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the smallest country by population to have ever sat as a non-permanent member on the United Nations Security Council.

"At the core of what we are seeking to do is to try to build a deeper understanding between your country, a very powerful, very strong, major power and the smallest country which ever has been selected by the General Assembly to sit on the Security Council, to see certain symmetry, or commonality, of positions and also to see where there may be divergences on big global issues," Gonsalves remarked.

He added that the schedule of his working meetings with the top Russian officials, including former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, had been interrupted due to the government reshuffle in Russia.

"I was scheduled to meet with the prime minister. I understand that it's a deputy prime minister that I'll be meeting because of what happened with the resignation of the government consequent upon [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin's announcement. Then I'm supposed to have a meeting with my old friend, [acting] Foreign Minister Lavrov but I don't know what's going to happen in relation to that," the prime minister said.

Gonsalves was a participant at the Gaidar Forum, a major economic event featuring approximately 15,000 participants, on Wednesday and Thursday as he spoke on pressing global issues such as climate change and sustainable development.