Burç Eruygur
30 April 2026•Update: 30 April 2026
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that the prolonged US-Israeli conflict with Iran has had a “negative impact” on the Caspian Sea and its coastline.
“The Caspian Sea must remain a zone of peace and cooperation,” Lavrov stated during a press conference following talks with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev in the Central Asian nation’s capital Astana.
Lavrov further described a strike on Iran's port city of Bandar Anzali last month as unacceptable, noting the seaport serves the “trade and logistics interests” of all five Caspian states.
Lavrov said that he and Kosherbayev spoke “in favor of a speedy resolution of the crisis in the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East as a whole, moving towards achieving political agreements between all parties involved.”
“When discussing the Middle East, we certainly believe it's important not to lose sight of what's happening in Lebanon, particularly the impasse that has developed, with no clear path out, regarding the creation of a Palestinian state,” Lavrov further said.
Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine war, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s interest in resuming peace negotiations based on “existing Russian-American understandings.”
The Russian foreign minister went on to say that Moscow expects the agreements reached during a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska in August last year “will be implemented."
He also expressed Russia’s gratitude to Kazakhstan for its “understanding of the situation and their balanced assessment of what is happening there.”
Lavrov further spoke about bilateral relations between Moscow and Astana, saying that their process of opening a Russian Consulate General in the city of Aktau has “entered its final stages."
He also said that he and his Kazakh counterpart discussed the schedule of upcoming bilateral contacts, including Putin’s visit to the Central Asian nation next month.
