“We greatly appreciate Algeria’s considered, objective and balanced position on the Ukrainian issue,” Lavrov told reporters after meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
Algeria’s representatives abstained from the vote when the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in March demanding Russia to withdraw from Ukraine immediately.
Europe looks to Algeria for gas
Italy, Spain and other European Union countries are among those who have looked to Algeria as the union tries to make itself less dependent on Russian oil and gas.
The European Union currently receives about 47 percent of its gas needs from Russia, and is looking at potential alternatives. Algeria, which wants to preserve its long-standing alliance with Russia, has indicated that it does not have the ability to do so in the short term.
Interested in Algerian cooperation?
When asked about Algeria’s gas supplies, Lavrov replied that Russia, Algeria and other gas suppliers “believe that we must respect the agreements that have already been made.”
According to Lavrov, there was more than $3 billion in trade between countries last year, despite the Corona pandemic. He also mentioned that “many Russian companies” are interested in cooperating with Algerian companies, especially in the field of energy and medicine.
Lavrov added that the two countries discussed “strengthening military and technical cooperation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Tebboune in April about “cooperation within OPEC +, as well as about the situation in Ukraine,” according to Russian news agency TASS.
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