Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry by telephone on Thursday about Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain's rift with Qatar, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said.
"Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday and affirmed Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain's position of rejecting Qatar's support for terrorism and extremism," Reuters cited the spokesman as saying.
The foreign ministers of the four countries met in Cairo on Wednesday in a gathering that was expected to yield further sanctions after a deadline they gave Qatar to meet 13 demands expired. However, they announced no new measures. They voiced disappointment at Qatar's "negative" response to their demands and said their boycott of it would continue. Shoukry told Lavrov of the results of the quartet's meeting, Abu Zeid said, and Lavrov affirmed his country's commitment to helping fight terror.
Shoukry and Lavrov also discussed the latest developments in Syria and agreed to meet soon in Cairo or Moscow, Abu Zeid said.
