Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during talks with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Moscow, July 4, 2025

We are happy to welcome you to Moscow. I would like to express special gratitude for making this visit despite your busy schedule and a complicated situation in the region. I appreciate the opportunity to maintain our personal relations on a regular basis.

I would like to mention Saudi Arabia’s fruitful participation in the 28th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. It was attended by your delegation led by Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and co-chair of the Joint Russian-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission. He had a substantive conversation with the Russian co-chair and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on the sidelines of the forum.

I would also like to express appreciation for the decision of Saudi Arabia to accept our invitation to attend the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum as a guest country and the main participant. It is symbolic that it will be held in  the year of the 100th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. We will coordinate special events with our Saudi friends to celebrate this date.

Regarding international and regional affairs, we will hold an in-depth discussion on them in addition to our bilateral agenda. We need to prepare for two major events we have agreed to hold this year. The 8th Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue will be held in Sochi on September 11, and the First Russian-Arab Summit  will be held in Moscow on October 15.

We hope that Prime Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud will attend them. His personal ties with President Vladimir Putin set the tone and pace of our relations and ensure their sustainable development to mutual advantage.

I would like to conclude with congratulations to your football team Al Hilal on a 4-3 win against Manchester City at the Club World Cup. It was a remarkable and dramatic match and a well-deserved victory.