Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Saudi Arabia

On September 9-10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In Jeddah he had a meeting with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and held talks with Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.

In the context of the first visit by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Russia, which is scheduled for early October, the sides focused on the current aspects of the further consistent development of the entire range of Russian-Saudi relations. They reaffirmed the mutual resolve by Moscow and Riyadh to carry on an active and trust-based political dialogue on a wide range of regional and global matters that are of mutual concern for Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The sides pointed to the firm intention of Russia and Saudi Arabia to promote trade, economic, energy, investment, industrial, research and technology, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. In light of this, they highlighted the importance of energetic joint efforts within the framework of the Russian-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission, as well as the significance of direct contacts between their business communities.

During the discussion of Middle Eastern questions, the sides focused on the importance of finding political and diplomatic solutions to conflicts and crises in this strategic region as soon as possible, in particular in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, the Persian Gulf and the Palestinian territories. They reaffirmed the similarity of the fundamental policies of Russia and Saudi Arabia regarding strict compliance with international law, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and pooling efforts of the international community against terrorism and extremist ideology.