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Saudi King may visit Russia in early 2016 — presidential aide

Both sides have expressed interest in preparing the visit in detail

King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz AlSaud AP Photo/Hasan Jamali

King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz AlSaud

© AP Photo/Hasan Jamali

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Putin holds meeting with Saudi King

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud may visit Russia in first months of 2016, Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Friday.

"Both sides have expressed interest in preparing the visit in detail. Both we and the Saudi Arabian will be engaged in this preparation and we assume that the visit will take place somewhere in the first months of next year," Ushakov said.

He said the Russian president and the Saudi king had "a rather substantial conversation" on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Antalya. They discussed the Syrian settlement, bilateral cooperation on fight against terrorism and bilateral issues, including preparations for the visit to Russia.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in October that a possibility of such visit was looked into.

"Such a possibility is studied through diplomatic channels. After all necessary conditions and time limits are agreed, we, together with our Saudi Arabian partners, will make a relevant statement," Peskov said, answering a question whether a visit of the Saudi Arabian leader to Russia was possible before the end of the year.

"There is an understanding of the need to continue cooperation and dialogue on the Syrian settlement as well as the Middle East settlement," he said then.

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