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Kremlin welcomes any steps by Iran, Saudi Arabia aimed at easing regional tensions

The statement said that the countries voiced their commitment to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs and plan to resume cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, culture, science and technology

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Moscow welcomes any and all steps taken by Iran and Saudi Arabia to facilitate an easing of tensions in the region and revive a dialogue between the neighboring Gulf countries, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"We welcome any steps that can and will help reduce tensions and reinvigorate dialogue in the region, in a very unstable region," Peskov told a news briefing. "Especially when it comes to such key regional players as Saudi Arabia and Iran."

On March 10, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Iran and Saudi Arabia had agreed to normalize bilateral relations and planned to open embassies within two months. Iranian and Saudi diplomats had held talks in Beijing for several days, after which a trilateral statement was adopted.

The statement said that the countries voiced their commitment to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs and plan to resume cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, culture, science and technology.

Relations between Riyadh and Tehran became strained in March 2015 after a Saudi-led coalition had launched a military operation in Yemen against the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad were attacked by crowds protesting against the execution in Riyadh of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric.

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