MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The situation in the Gulf region and economic cooperation were the focus of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

"Much attention was paid to key issues on the Middle East agenda, primarily the crisis in the Persian Gulf region. Both sides emphasized the importance of preventing a resumption of hostilities in this strategically important region of the world and of ensuring the freedom and security of international maritime navigation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said after Lavrov’s working visit to Bahrain.

The sides also discussed the implementation of the existing high-level agreements on the development of the entire range of traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Bahrain. "Both sides expressed mutual interest in expanding cooperation in the economic sphere, including in the areas of investment, culture, education, and other ties. In this context, they noted the importance of the Russian-Bahraini Intergovernmental commission on trade-and-economic and scientific-and-technical cooperation," the ministry said.

Apart from that, the sides exchanged views on the prospects for the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "Moscow and Manama reiterated their commitment to continuing regular political dialogue and close coordination both in the bilateral format and within the existing cooperation mechanisms of the Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council and Russia-Arab League," it added.