FM Sameh Shoukry leaves Paris for Moscow

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry left Paris Wednesday for Moscow as part of a tour that also took him to Tunisia on Tuesday.
During his stop in France, Shoukry met with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al Faisal, Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel Ati said. Talks took up bilateral relations and regional developments, he added.
Shoukry touched upon preparations for an Egyptian economic conference that will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh on March 13-15, Abdel Aati said.
The top diplomats also talked about arrangements ahead of the upcoming Arab Summit, he added.
Abdel Ati said the meeting also tackled the deteriorating security situation in Libya and the threat posed by terrorist groups there.
Shoukry and Prince Saud talked about efforts exerted to support the legitimate government of Libya and an Arab draft resolution on Libya at the UN Security Council, the spokesman added.
They stressed the importance of lifting an arms embargo on the legitimate Libyan government, while tightening the grip on weapons reaching armed militias, Abdel Ati said.
The situation in Yemen also figured high at the meeting, with the two foreign ministers stressing the need to achieve stability and maintain national unity there, Abdel Ati further said.
They agreed on the importance of implementing articles of the Gulf initiative on Yemen and the outcome of the national dialogue there, he added.
They also discussed joint coordination regarding the Syrian crisis, stressing the importance of protecting Syria's unity and the will of the Syrian people, he said.
Abdel Ati added that the situation in Iraq was also tackled, with focus on the national dialogue that, they stressed, should group all political and national powers without exclusion based on sect or religion.