Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

On March 9, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud now in Moscow on a working visit.

The ministers reaffirmed their mutual commitment to ensuring continued progress in traditionally friendly Russian-Saudi relations and emphasised that the agreements reached during meetings at the top level remain the main guideline in this regard.

Sergey Lavrov and Faisal Ben Farhan spoke in favour of maintaining a regular Russian-Saudi political dialogue, strengthening inter-parliamentary contacts and intensifying the exchange of delegations, including delegations from Russia’s regions. The ministers shared the view that it is now even more important to ensure sustainable positive bilateral trade dynamics amid global geopolitical transformations and the aggravation of the systemic problems and challenges plaguing the global economy. They noted the coordinating role of the Russian-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the eighth meeting of which will be held in Moscow this year.

The ministers compared notes on key items on the global and Middle East agendas focusing on the situation in Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. They agreed to maintain close coordination of Moscow and Riyadh’s efforts at promoting a comprehensive and sustainable settlement of numerous regional conflicts through an inclusive and equal dialogue based on the stakeholders’ legitimate interests and concerns.

The situation in the Gulf area, including plans for creating a collective security system that would involve the creation of mechanisms for joint response to existing challenges and threats with the participation of all stakeholders, was reviewed in detail as well.

Sergey Lavrov outlined Russia’s principled assessments and considerations as they apply to the situation in Ukraine and around it.