Russian President Vladimir Putin took a very high-level delegation with him to Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry announced Dec. 5, according to TASS that Lavrov would be staying on in the region: “From Dec. 8-9, the Russian foreign minister will take part in the 14th Sir Bani Yas International Forum on Peace and Security in Abu Dhabi. On Dec. 10, he is scheduled to speak at the 21st Doha Forum in Qatar.… In his speeches, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will outline the Russian vision of trends in global development and will talk about how our country sees a new, fairer, democratic world order, free from neo-colonial influence. And the minister will pay special attention to the problem of Palestinian-Israeli settlement, of course, and security issues in the Middle East.”