MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain asked Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov during their meeting to give his thanks to President Vladimir Putin for his unwavering commitment to strengthening multifaceted ties, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the talks.

Bogdanov was received by the King of Bahrain on the sidelines of the 33rd Arab League Summit on May 16.

"The King of Bahrain has asked to convey the words of gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin for his greetings to the participants of the Arab League summit in Manama, as well as the tenacious willingness to strengthen multifaceted ties with Bahrain and with Arab countries in general," the statement said.

Reports say that during the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the key international and Middle East issues, focusing on the situation with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Bogdanov congratulated Bahrain’s monarch on the success in hosting the pan-Arab summit and reiterated Moscow’s aspiration to further forge a traditionally friendly relationship between Russia and Bahrain, including by expanding cooperation in the trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian areas.