The fourth round of the Strategic Dialogue between Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the GCC member states and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation took place in Moscow on May 26, 2016. The meeting was co-chaired by Adel bin Ahmad AL-Jubeir, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is also chairman of the current GCC Presidency (for the GCC side) and Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (for the Russian side), with participation of the Foreign Ministers of the GCC States and Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, GCC Secretary General. The Ministers reaffirmed their shared intention to strengthen and develop friendship and collaboration between the two parties in various fields and commended the established mechanism for cooperation within the strategic dialogue between Russia and the GCC in this regard. The Ministers agreed to continue their work in the current format for further coordination of approaches to topical aspects of mutual interest on the international and regional agendas and enhanced practical bilateral business and humanitarian cooperation. Regional and international challenges The Ministers reaffirmed that relations between states should be based on the principles of good-neighborliness and full respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and interests of each of them, in accordance with International Law and the United Nations Charter. The resolution of persistent challenges and crises should be reached through peaceful means within the framework of a wide national dialogue. The Ministers agreed to combat terrorism and to work together to prevent and suppress terrorist acts through increased international cooperation, in full recognition of the UN’s central role and in accordance with UN Charter as well as through the full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, in particular 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015) and UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, supported the efforts of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center and the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee [CTC], and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism [CCIT], at the earliest. The Ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, reaffirming that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, and rejected associating terrorism with any religion, culture or ethnic group, emphasized the need for concerted regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and to address factors conductive to its spread, eliminate the sources and any kind of support for terrorism and violent extremism including its funding, as well as combating organized cross-border crime. The Ministers welcomed the initiative put forward by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to establish a large-scale anti-terrorist front based on international legal standards and the UN Charter and operating with the consent and in close coordination with regional states that bear the brunt of burden in resisting terrorists and extremists. The Ministers welcomed the establishment of the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism and supported cooperation between the Russian Federation and the US-led International Coalition against ISIS. The Ministers took note of counter-terrorism efforts undertaken by various international fore, including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF) under the auspices of the UN. The Ministers commended the outcome of the consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the General Secretariat of the OIC held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in January 2016 on the issue of combating terrorism, extremism and organized crime. The Ministers welcomed the beginning on the 16th of January, 2016 of practical implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concluded on the 14th of July, 2015 in Vienna and aimed at final settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue. They urged all parties concerned to faithfully implement their respective commitments to ensure sustainability of the JCPOA and called upon all countries to support its implementation. --More 21:23 LOCAL TIME 18:23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w