Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, visited on Friday Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil, and relayed to him a message from his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
In the wake of the meeting, the Russian diplomat said, "In light of the message I conveyed to Minister Bassil, we discussed the situation in the region, especially Russia's efforts vis-a-vis the situation in Syria and the liberation of Syrian territories from terrorists. We also discussed the progress made with regard to a political settlement on the basis of the Security Council's resolution and the outcome of Sochi conference."
Zasypkin went on to relay his country's optimism concerning this progress; however, he deplored the obstruction and misinformation by those who do not wish to see any progress being made.
"Misleading the public opinion and fabricated news about what is happening in eastern Ghouta is an outright evidence," he said.
In response to a question, the Russian ambassador denied that the Russian Foreign Minister's message to Bassil had mentioned anything about the border dispute between Lebanon and Israel over Block 9 of the disputed area for oil and gas extraction.
"There is no specific Russian role in this matter, and Lebanon's position regarding this issue has become internationally known," Zasypkin said.
Separately, Bassil welcomed Acting UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Pernille Kardel.
"We discussed the main issues facing Lebanon and its stability, as well as the continued cooperation and partnership between us," Kardel said on emerging.
Bassil later had an audience with the Danish ambassadors to the Middle East, who held their regional conference in Beirut. The Minister and the Danish diplomats discussed the situation in the Middle East region.
Bassil also discussed bilateral relations with Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, Emmanuelle Lamoureux.
The governor of Tucuman, Juan Manzur, later visited Bassil. "The Minister has told us that the energy conference will be held in November in the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires," Manzur said.
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