New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- Russia expects its relationship with Kuwait to survive a change of foreign minister intact.

"I'm very glad to have this opportunity on the margins of the general assembly to get in direct touch with you and with your team," Lavrov told Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. "We've had very good relations with your predecessor and I'm sure it's in the interest of Russia and Kuwait to ensure continuity. I look forward to our cooperation." Al-Sabah responded that he was delighted to be in New York and to meet Lavrov in person.

That backdrop gives the pleasantries some weight. Kuwait has stayed publicly cautious through the past year's regional escalation, and a low-key reaffirmation from Moscow, rat...