Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty received a phone call from his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Friday, during which they discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, including Gaza and Sudan. The two ministers affirmed the deep historical ties between their countries and the growing momentum in various areas of cooperation, especially in the economic and trade fields, Egypt's foreign ministry said in a statement. Abdelatty expressed Egypt's pride in its strategic partnership with Russia and stressed the importance of continuing joint work to advance ongoing cooperation projects, foremost among them the Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. On Gaza, Abdelatty reviewed Egypt's continuous efforts to consolidate the Sharm El-Sheikh peace agreement and implement its provisions in full. He stressed the need to move to the second phase of the plan, which includes political, developmental, and humanitarian aspects, to ensure the sustainability of the calm and achieve security and stability in the region. He also pointed to the ongoing preparations for the international conference on the reconstruction and early recovery of Gaza, to be held in Cairo, and stressed the importance of mobilising international support for the event. Regarding the situation in Sudan, the two ministers emphasized the need to preserve the Sudanese state and its national institutions, maintain its unity, and reject any parallel entities. Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's firm position in support of Sudan's unity and stability and reviewed its efforts within the quartet mechanism aimed at achieving de-escalation and a comprehensive ceasefire. The Egyptian minister also stressed the need for concerted regional and international efforts to ensure a comprehensive humanitarian truce and the opening of safe corridors for aid. He condemned the "gross violations" that have occurred in El Fasher and expressed grave concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation on the ground.
