MANAMA /Kingdom of Bahrain/, October 18. /TASS/. The Russian Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf is aimed at creating conditions for dialogue between countries, and if interested, permanent members of the UN Security Council can be involved to support the process, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a ministerial meeting of the Russia-Gulf Arab Cooperation Council (GCC) Strategic Dialogue.

"We consider the updated Concept of Ensuring Collective Security in the Gulf zone as our contribution, you are familiar with it. This document in its previous editions has been discussed for decades with representatives of the political, scientific, and expert circles of the countries of the Cooperation Council. And we proceed from the fact that it is necessary to give the coastal states themselves the decisive say in determining ways to ensure the safe development of this entire most important strategic region of the world," he said.

"Our concept is aimed at creating conditions for direct dialogue between the countries, the Gulf coast countries, and their neighbors, such as Iraq and Jordan. As you know, we propose to involve non-regional players in creating such conditions, including the leadership of the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and, if you are interested, the permanent members of the UN Security Council to support this process.".