Moscow, Russia: Two-day visit of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to Moscow concluded after his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Foreign Ministers of both the countries held press talks and shared future design of Russia-Saudi relationship.
Following are important points released to official channels of Russia:
Important Points of King Salman talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin are:
Vladimir Putin:
- Discussion with King Salman was very informative, substantive and trust-based discussion.
- Visit of King Salman will give a new strong impetus to the development of bilateral relations.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud:
- Saudi Arabia is striving to continue cooperation with Russia for achieving stability in the global oil market, to expand and diversify the scope of economic cooperation, to establish the trade, economic and investment foundations.
- Iran is interfering in the domestic affairs of the states in the region.
- Political resolution of the Yemeni crisis is needed according to Persian Gulf states’ initiative, Yemen’s National Dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
- Syrian crisis should be resolved in line with the Geneva I decisions and UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
- Situation of Rohingya Muslims needs immediate solution.
Important points of meeting of King Salman with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev include:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said:
- Saudi Arabia is an important partner of Russia in the Middle East.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said:
- Peace and stability in the Middle East is possible only if Iran drops its current policy and respects neighbourly relations as well as international law.
Transcripts of meetings of King Salman with Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Two-day visit of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to Moscow concluded after meetings of King Salman with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Foreign Ministers of both the country held press talks and shared future design of Russia-Saudi relationship.
Beginning of Russian-Saudi talks in expanded format
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Your Majesty, colleagues. Allow me to welcome you once again, now in an expanded format.
We have just completed talks in narrow format, which were very in-depth. We spoke about our bilateral relations and the situation in the region. It was a very informative, substantive and trust-based discussion.
I would like to say once again that we are glad to welcome the King of Saudi Arabia on a visit, which is the first in the history of our relations. I believe that this visit will give a new strong impetus to the development of bilateral relations.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia (retranslated): In the name of Allah most gracious, most merciful.
Gentlemen, Mr President,
First of all, I would like to thank you, Mr President, for your warm welcome and hospitality that we received in this friendly country.
We value the warm feelings towards our country that you expressed in your remarks. We enjoy visiting this friendly country to confirm our commitment to strengthening and improving the relations between our countries and peoples in various areas.
It should be noted that these relations are defined by common perspectives on many regional and international problems.
We continue coordinating our actions in every area that contributes to the higher security and prosperity in our states, in every area that promotes international peace and security. We are striving to continue the positive cooperation between our states to achieve stability in the global oil market, which will facilitate global economic growth.
We strongly believe that there are great opportunities to expand and diversify the scope of our economic cooperation, to establish the trade, economic and investment foundation that would enhance the use of our specifics for the benefit of our countries and in the interests of developing trade throughout industries according to the Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme.
The international community today is called upon to energise its efforts against extremism, terrorism and the sources of their financing. Realising the enormous danger that terrorism and extremism pose for the security and stability of countries and peoples, Saudi Arabia called for establishing an international counter-terrorism centre under the aegis of the UN and provided $110 million for this centre. Saudi Arabia established a military Islamic coalition that now comprises 41 Muslim states, and initiated the opening of a global centre in Riyadh to combat extremist ideology.
We are stressing the importance of putting an end to the suffering of the Palestinians, and speaking in favour of the Arab Peace Initiative and international law serving as a basis for achieving overarching, just and permanent peace that would ensure the Palestinians’ right to create their own independent state with a capital in East Jerusalem.
We are also stressing that the security and stability in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East is the most eagerly sought-after and essential pre-requisite for achieving security and stability in the world. This requires that Iran abandon attempts to interfere in the domestic affairs of the states in the region and stop the activity that destabilises the region.
We are stressing the significance of a political resolution of the Yemeni crisis based on the Persian Gulf states’ initiative, its implementation methods, the results of Yemen’s National Dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which ensures Yemen’s unity, security and stability.
As concerns the Syrian crisis, we are committed to pushing for its resolution in line with the Geneva I decisions and UN Security Council Resolution 2254, to finding a political solution that would guarantee security, stability and Syria’s unity and territorial integrity. We call for the international community to take responsibility for the issues of Rohingya Muslims and find a solution that would protect them from violence and put an end to their suffering. We are also stressing the importance of preserving Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity and unification of the domestic front against terrorism. Finally, I am pleased to extend my invitation to the President to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to continue and complete our consultations, and to improve the cooperation between our countries in all areas. Thank you once again to you, Mr President, and the Russian Government for the warm welcome and hospitality. We wish your country and the friendly Russian people further progress and prosperity.
Vladimir Putin: Your Majesty, thank you very much. Thank you for the invitation. I remember my previous trip to your country, and by all means I accept your invitation to visit Saudi Arabia once again.
Beginning of talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Your Majesty, colleagues and friends,
Let me cordially welcome you to Russia’s capital, Moscow. Thank you very much for accepting our invitation and coming on a visit. This is the first visit of the King of Saudi Arabia to Russia in the history of our relations, and this itself is a landmark event.
Our relations have a fairly long history. In 1926, 90 years ago, even more, our country, the Soviet Union at that time, was the first state to recognise the newly formed Kingdom created by Abdulaziz bin Al Saud. And now we are very pleased to receive you here, Your Majesty. I am confident that your visit will serve as a good impetus for the development of our intergovernmental relations.
Welcome.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia (retranslated): I am grateful to you, Your Excellency, Mr President, for the warm welcome.
We are happy to visit your friendly country. We are striving to strengthen bilateral relations in the interests of peace and security, in the interests of developing the world economy.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
The officials discussed bilateral cooperation in trade, the economy, industry, energy, agriculture and other spheres, as well as the implementation of large joint infrastructure projects.
Meeting of King Salman with Prime Minister Medvedev (Excerpts from the transcript):
Dmitry Medvedev: This is the first visit to Russia made by the King of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Saudi Arabia is an important partner of Russia in the Middle East, and yesterday’s events have shown that we can boost our cooperation to a very high level. You held very productive talks with President of Russia Vladimir Putin yesterday. The agreements you have reached are vitally important for our future cooperation in investment, the oil and gas sector, as well as in energy, the chemical industry, high technology and in the field of transportation.
I would just like to say that I will issue the necessary instructions to the ministers concerned, in my capacity as Prime Minister of Russia, so that the agreements reached will be implemented as soon as possible.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (via interpreter): We are resolved to continue to develop our relations so as to open up a new and broad horizon for them. It is in this spirit that our fruitful talks with President Vladimir Putin were held. We have agreed to develop our cooperation in all spheres. We also agreed that an end must be put to the suffering of the Palestinian people plus a fair and comprehensive solution must be found to the Palestinian problem. We spoke about the need for peace and stability in the Middle East. However, this will be possible only if Iran drops its current policy and respects neighbourly relations as well as international law.
Saudi Arabia has reached a historically crucial stage in its development, as you can see from our national transformation programme, Saudi Vision 2030. We would like your friendly country to contribute to the implementation of this programme, because this would meet the interests of both our nations.
We are happy that we have balanced the international oil markets in the interests of both consumers and producers.
Statements for the press by foreign ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia following top-level talks
Important points of statements released after meeting of Russian and Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministers:
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov said:
Russia and Saudi Arabia will work together for expanding trade, energy (traditional and Nuclear), economic, investment, cultural, and inter-parliamentary cooperation.
President Putin and King Salman had an extensive, confidential discussion of the most important aspects of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, with special emphasis on Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, the Persian Gulf and the Palestine-Israel settlement process.
King Salman appreciated the efforts to reach a settlement in Syria in the framework of the Astana format.
Russia supports the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to unite the Syrian opposition in order to consolidate its constructive platform for negotiations with the government on the basis of UN Security Council resolution No 2254.
A programme of cultural exchanges has been agreed, with the Mariinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi Theatre and other performing groups shortly to go to Saudi Arabia.
Important points of Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir:
Talks were positive, friendly, and constructive. Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia have begun to develop and open up new horizons.
Russia and Saudi Arabia believe in the need to respect the principle of sovereignty and respect for international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.
Russia and Saudi Arabia discussed in detail fighting terrorism and extremism, the Palestinian issue and the need to resolve it.
Russia-Saudi Arabia relations have reached a milestone, becoming institutional in nature.
Transcript of Press Conference
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov: Ladies and gentlemen,
The visit of the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has just ended. This was his first visit to the Russian Federation as Saudi monarch. His Majesty was here in 2006, when he was Governor of Riyadh Province.
Today, talks were held between the President of the Russian Federation and the King of Saudi Arabia. My Saudi colleague, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, and I would like to inform you of the results of these talks. It was a friendly and substantive conversation based on the mutual desire of Moscow and Riyadh to consistently expand mutually beneficial cooperation across all areas.
Our leaders discussed in detail the current state and ways to further expand and improve our interaction in trade, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, and agreed to encourage inter-parliamentary cooperation in every possible way. We expect that a representative delegation of Saudi Arabia will participate in the forthcoming Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which will be held in St Petersburg this month.
The Russian President and His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia actively supported the development of contacts involving Russia’s regions. Heads of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia took part in the talks. A number of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements, as well as major commercial contracts were signed. The strong cooperation between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as a number of other partners from Saudi Arabia, stands out in particular.
Among the promising industries on which agreements were reached today, I would like to mention, of course, the energy industry – and not only traditional but also nuclear energy – as well as cooperation in space exploration, the agro-industrial complex and infrastructure projects. Our leaders actively supported the new initiative of businesses in both countries: today the Russian Federation is hosting the first investment forum that is attended by dozens of Russian and Saudi companies. We are sure the considerable package of documents signed today not only creates the necessary contractual and legal basis for further cooperation, for its expansion, but also makes it possible to raise the Russian-Saudi partnership to a new level.
It is very important that soon after the current summit, in late October—early November, Riyadh will host the regular, fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, on the sidelines of which another business forum will be held. It will be attended by a large group of Russian entrepreneurs.
The leaders of our countries welcomed the agreement to establish yet another commission, on defence industry cooperation, which will hold its first meeting before the end of this year.
Our energy cooperation is not limited to strictly bilateral projects. His Majesty the King and the President of Russia supported the work of the energy ministries in the OPEC+ format.
President Putin and King Salman had an extensive, confidential discussion of the most important aspects of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, with special emphasis on Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, the Persian Gulf and the Palestine-Israel settlement process.
It is critically important that both King Salman and President Putin see totally eye-to-eye on the need for mutually respectful dialogue among all the stakeholders in order to solve all these and other problems.
They stressed the need for a speedy resolution of crisis situations by peaceful political means on the basis of a broad national dialogue in each specific conflict in line with the UN Charter and the principles of international law.
In this context, King Salman appreciated the efforts to reach a settlement in Syria in the framework of the Astana format. For its part, Russia supports the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to unite the Syrian opposition in order to consolidate its constructive platform for negotiations with the government on the basis of UN Security Council resolution No 2254.
The discussion of all these regional problems once again demonstrated the shared understanding of the priority of waging a resolute fight against terror. This is the aim of the initiatives the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia are promoting at the UN and in the international arena in general. And of course, it is clear that fighting terror implies resolute opposition to extremist ideology.
We have briefed our Saudi colleagues on the corresponding approaches currently being considered at the UN Security Council. We expect that the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group, created by the Russian Federation and the Islamic Cooperation, will continue contributing to these efforts.
We are actively expanding humanitarian links, and we are grateful to the Kingdom for its traditional concern for Russian pilgrims who visit Saudi Arabia during the Hajj season.
A programme of cultural exchanges has been agreed, with the Mariinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi Theatre and other performing groups shortly to go to Saudi Arabia.
More broadly, President Putin and King Salman instructed all the agencies represented at the talks – and the two governments were almost fully represented – to work in a hands-on and purposeful manner to implement all the agreements reached today at the top level.
Thank you.
Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir (retranslated): Thank you very much. I am very pleased to be back in the friendly nation of Russia as part of the first in history – as my colleague Sergei Lavrov mentioned – visit of the Saudi monarch, the keeper of the two shrines, to Russia.
As my colleague already mentioned, the talks were positive, friendly, and constructive. We discussed economic, cultural, and political issues, as well as the challenges facing the region, and affirmed that our two countries are on the same page regarding these issues.
We believe that the relations between our two countries have begun to develop and open up new horizons, which we could not even imagine earlier. This is due to the guidelines provided by the leaders of our respective countries and the corresponding painstaking work of our colleagues from the various departments and governments of our two countries. We share the desire to increase bilateral trade, step up political consultations and cooperation in the sphere of security and countering terrorism and extremism.
We do consider each other neighbouring countries, since we are close to each other, and we share history and religious ties. Both countries believe in the need to respect the principle of sovereignty and respect for international law and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. Both countries reject the imposition of principles that are alien to the societies of our two countries.
With regard to regional problems, indeed, as my colleague already mentioned, we discussed in detail fighting terrorism and extremism, the Palestinian issue and the need to resolve it. I mean the need to resolve it based on the international legitimacy of the Arab Peace Initiative, which states the need for the establishment of two states, one of which is the Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem.
As for Syria, we are cooperating closely with Russia on the matter of uniting the Syrian opposition and expanding its framework in order to begin the political process in Geneva.
We also support the talks in Astana as well as the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and government institutions.
On the subject of Iraq, we confirmed the importance of preserving this country’s unity and assisting in the fight against terrorism.
Regarding Yemen, as it has been said, we support the efforts of the UN special envoy and the search for a solution based on the initiative of the gulf states, based on the results of Yemen’s National Dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
With respect to Libya, we are also trying to achieve convergence of various Libyan forces, to assist in efforts to achieve security and to help the UN special envoy who is trying to find a solution to the crisis.
As mentioned before, we also touched upon the situation concerning the gulf.
Yesterday, we had an opportunity to hold talks at the Foreign Ministry. We discussed ways to strengthen further cooperation between the two foreign ministries.
I can also say that in general, Russia-Saudi Arabia relations have reached a milestone, becoming institutional in nature, that is all government institutions and bodies are participating in their development. We started investment cooperation and continue improving trade between the two countries. We are holding intensive consultations on all topics.
We believe that further strengthening of Russia-Saudi ties will have a positive effect on enhancing security and stability in the region and the world.
Thank you once again, Mr Minister, for your hospitality. It was a very informative exchange of opinions and coordination of actions.
Thank you very much.
