MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Russia has a positive influence on the stabilization of the situation in the Middle East, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a joint press conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"Russia plays a serious role in the international arena. It is a prominent and strong player, especially on the UN Security Council platform. We welcome and appreciate Russia's involvement in our regional affairs and believe that Russia has a positive influence on stabilizing the situation in the region," he said.
The Saudi Foreign Minister also praised Russia's position on the Palestinian issue.
"Traditionally, historically, the Russian Federation has always advocated for the right of the Palestinian people to create an independent state through a peace process, and has always called for a fair resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," he said.
Touching upon the disputes around the Iranian nuclear program, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stressed that "the Russian Federation has traditionally always called for a political, diplomatic solution to this problem, despite the different opinions of various players."
"We hope that the Russian Federation will maintain its involvement in this issue in the future and this will allow us to achieve deconfliction of the situation, resolve accumulated disagreements, save the region from sliding into a new confrontation and protect us from new serious challenges. We support the Russian Federation's call for negotiations, especially on such serious and important issues for us," he concluded.