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Saudi Arabia seeks to strengthen ties with Russia in all spheres

After the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Saudi top diplomat said he hopes for rapprochement with Russia on disputable issues, such as the settlement in Syria
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir
© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, August 11./TASS/. Saudi Arabia seeks to develop relations with Russia in all spheres, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.

"We have confirmed out bid to strengthen ties. We believe that the present level of economic relations does not match the weight of our countries on the global arena," the Saudi Arabian foreign minister said.

"That is why, the leadership of the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia has made the decision to boost ties in all spheres, including economic, military and political cooperation," he added.

"The visit of Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince to St. Petersburg was a key moment in giving a boost to our relations," he added.

"We hope very much that the legal framework and juridical base which underlies our relations, a set of bilateral documents that were signed during the above mentioned visit will contribute to this," the minister said.

The Saudi Arabian foreign minister also noted that work was in progress at the moment on a new set of documents. He also said the king of Saudi Arabia was planning to visit Russia and said he believed this visit would "give a new impetus" to bilateral ties.

"There are a lot of issues between our states that deserve to be looked into — international issues, bilateral ties, cooperation in the oil sector and in many others," Adel al-Juberi said.

Saudi foreign minister hopes for rapprochement with Russia on disputable issues

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir has said he is looking forward to rapprochement between Riyadh and Moscow on the persisting outstanding issues, including the settlement in Syria.

"The two countries see eye-to-eye on many different issues, but there are disagreements on certain topics," he said. "We are looking forward to rapprochement in the course of our further consultations."

Al-Jubeir noted that his country’s stance on the settlement in Syria remained unchanged and was based on the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012. He added that Saudi Arabia continued to believe that "there was no place for incumbent President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in the future."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit Russia at any convenient time. Russia’s top diplomat said as much following talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

"We have confirmed our invitation to King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to visit Russia at any convenient time," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

For his part, the top diplomat of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed that the king planned to take advantage of the invitation and visit Russia. He added that the results of this visit "would give a fresh impetus to the relations between the two countries."