Lavrov to discuss Gulf tensions with GCC ministers in Bahrain

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Manama, Bahrain, for a meeting with ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC.

The six-member group includes Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and Russia has held a strategic dialogue with it since 2011.

The talks are expected to focus on rising tensions in the Persian Gulf and efforts to ease them.

The crisis has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and contributed to higher oil prices.

The IMF estimates GCC economies could contract by 4.8% this year because of the crisis, while a wider war and closure of the straits could push oil prices above $200 a barrel, according to experts cited by TASS.

The European Union has also indefinitely postponed a planned summit with the GCC after an attack on Riyadh’s airport that killed at least 17 people.

Lavrov’s tour is set to continue in Tehran, where he is due to meet Iran’s foreign minister.