Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Iran joining the Mecca Agreement would be a step in the right direction for regional security.
Speaking at a meeting with students and faculty members of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in Moscow, Lavrov said that successive military escalations could give states a better understanding of the need to refrain from posing threats and to establish a lasting security process.
Lavrov said the Mecca Agreement established by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was based on a shared understanding of security and defense, adding that the framework might not remain limited to the Gulf states. He said the process could produce positive results if Egypt, as well as Algeria, showed interest.
Lavrov said that reaching an agreement on the conditions under which Iran could join the framework would constitute a practical step in line with the security approach advocated by Russia. He added that no country needed to claim precedence.
The Mecca Agreement was signed on August 7
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed a joint defense agreement in Mecca on August 7.
The agreement was founded on the principles of shared responsibility and regional initiatives at a time of growing regional and international instability.
Lavrov stresses balance of interests
Lavrov also said that Russia would not support agreements that failed to maintain a balance among interests. He said every agreement should be based on pragmatism and noted that Russia had been disappointed many times in the past.
The Russian foreign minister also questioned the sincerity of the actors on the other side, saying that no agreement lacking both pragmatism and a balance of interests would be acceptable to Russia.
Criticism of the OSCE
Lavrov argued that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had also completely discredited itself. He said the organization had initially sought to reconcile the West and the East, but that a different framework emerged during its establishment when the United States and Canada were included alongside European countries.
Lavrov said describing the OSCE as merely being in crisis was not enough to fully explain what had happened. He alleged that the principle of consensus had been violated and that some mechanisms within the organization had acted unilaterally.
