MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the Kremlin with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Thursday.

The president noted that Moscow is ready to do anything it can to normalize the situation in the Middle East and also spoke about plans to supply Russian grain to Egypt.

TASS has compiled the key statements made by the Russian leader.

Situation in Middle East

Russia hopes for a swift end to the conflict in the Middle East: "We all hope that the conflict will be brought to an end as soon as possible. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump also spoke on this issue."

Moscow, for its part, is ready to do all it can to normalize the situation in the region: "Let me repeat once again: for our part, we are already prepared to do anything to bring the situation to a state of so-called normalcy."

"The situation in the region is a matter of shared concern," and in this regard it is very important for Russia to hear Egypt’s assessments as a key Middle Eastern country on this issue.

Development of Russia-Egypt cooperation

The Russian government has been instructed to work out food supplies to Egypt, primarily grain: "Following our telephone conversation with the president of Egypt, I instructed the government to work with Egyptian colleagues on the issue of supplying food products to Egypt, primarily our grain."

Russia had a good harvest and will have no problems with supplies: "Egypt is our partner, and in this regard I would like to say that last year we achieved good results in agriculture, a good harvest, and we have no problems with supplies and will not have any."

Russia and Egypt could discuss the creation of a grain and energy hub in the republic: "We can talk about creating a grain and energy hub in Egypt, there are many interesting ideas."

Russia-Egypt relations

The president invited Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Russia and expressed hope that Egypt will be represented at a high level at the Russia-Africa summit in October: "I would like to draw attention to the fact that in October this year we are planning the next Russia-Africa summit, and we hope that Egypt will be represented by a strong, high-level delegation. If the president of Egypt finds the time, we will of course be glad to see him in Moscow."