On February 21-22, the Valdai Discussion Club, with the support of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, holds its eleventh Middle East Conference. This year's agenda is “Russia and the Middle East: Strategic Rapprochement and the Intertwinement of Interests”. The second day of the conference began with the meeting with Faisal Mekdad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic. The meeting was moderated by Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club.