Русский
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrovm has held talks with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, yesterday (July 4). Al Saud is in Moscow on a working visit.
The ministers called for maintaining a regular Russian-Saudi dialogue and intensifying delegation exchanges. They stressed the need for promoting their countries’ business partnership and ensuring stable positive dynamics in bilateral trade. The ministers also pointed to the important coordinating role played by the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, confirming relevance of continued effective collaboration between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the OPEC+ format.
They also compared notes on key international and regional issues. Priority was given to the recent dramatic escalation in relations between Iran and Israel. They expressed hope that the ceasefire would be stable, something that will make it possible to avoid a recurrence of armed confrontation. They stressed the importance of collective efforts aimed at settling the remaining differences by the political and diplomatic means and promoting a constructive agenda in the Middle East.
They also stated that it was necessary to adopt urgent measures to de-escalate the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone and invigorate efforts in order to create conditions for an early resumption of the negotiating process due to culminate in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, a state coexisting in peace and security with Israel.
Lavrov praised Saudi Arabia’s steps to settle the Yemeni crisis. It was noted that the way towards a permanent stabilisation in the Republic of Yemen lay through the launching of a full-format UN-mediated national dialogue involving all political forces of Yemen. The ministers confirmed the relevance of energetic actions by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg, who seeks to achieve long-term normalisation.
While discussing the situation in and around Syria, the ministers confirmed Moscow and Riyadh’s position of principle in support of a comprehensive effort to overcome the consequences of the years-long conflict in Syria and preserve its unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Sergey Lavrov set forth Russian appraisals with regard to the emerging geopolitical realities, including the state of affairs in an around Ukraine. He emphasised Russia’s focus on achieving a comprehensive, fair and stable settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov also made additional statements after the meeting, saying that “We discussed our trade and economic ties, acknowledging the positive trend in the development of mutual trade in the past few years, as well as in the first few months of this year. The Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Saudi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation is of key importance for identifying new possibilities for making full use of our two countries’ potential. The commission held its previous meeting in Moscow in late 2023 and will meet next in Saudi Arabia in the latter half of 2025.
Our countries are committed to continuing their close cooperation in the OPEC+ format. Just like our Saudi friends, we believe that this unique mechanism of the leading oil exporting countries is extremely important for balancing supply and demand on the global energy market.
We spoke highly about the growth of our tourist exchanges. In 2024, the number of Saudi tourists in Russia was nearly six times larger than in 2023. More Russians now choose Saudi Arabia as their tourist destination. In 2024, they made over 36,000 trips to the Kingdom. I am confident that the further development of our tourist exchanges and contacts between our business communities and the general public will be facilitated by direct flights between Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, which are scheduled to begin in October 2025, as well as by the visa waiver agreement for the nationals of the Kingdom and the citizens of Russia. Its drafting is in the final stage.
I have also expressed gratitude to the Saudi authorities for the attention and support they give to organising the hajj of Russian Muslims to the Islamic relics situated in the Kingdom.
We welcomed the intention of our Saudi friends to participate in the InterVision music contest, which will be held in Russia in September per President Putin’s decision. We will look forward to seeing Saudi participants in this interesting event, which will hopefully become a regular item.
We discussed international and regional matters focusing on the Middle East and welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran expressing hope that it would be a durable solution and open the door to resuming talks. Both sides believe it is imperative to refrain from taking any actions that could spark renewed hostilities. Any and all arising differences of opinion should be resolved exclusively through political and diplomatic means in full adherence to the UN Charter and with the strong involvement of the countries that have leverage over the parties’ positions. Sure enough, Saudi Arabia and Russia are among them.
We expect the leaders of the Gulf Arab states and Iran to demonstrate their traditional wisdom and healthy pragmatism in order to maintain the positive outcomes achieved over the recent years and to continue the efforts to promote neighbourly relations. Notably, the agreement between the Kingdom and Tehran on normalising relations played a decisive role in achieving normalised relations between the Gulf Arab states and Iran.
Our positions on the Middle East settlement, the Palestinian issue, particularly the situation in Gaza, overlap as well. We consider it mandatory to take urgent measures to de-escalate the situation and to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in the Gaza Strip. The situation is not any better on the West Bank of the Jordan River. We advocate for the earliest possible resumption of talks between Palestinians and Israelis on the final status of Palestinian territories and for the implementation of the widely known UN resolutions on creating a Palestinian state.
Russia highly appreciates Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve settlement in Yemen. We remain convinced that the path to stabilisation lies through a UN-sponsored dialogue involving all influential political forces in that country, and that UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg’s energetic efforts to normalise the situation remain relevant.
We support bringing a comprehensive relief to the long-standing crisis in Syria based on maintaining its unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.
Russia expects Saudi Arabia to be properly represented at the first-ever Russia-Arab League summit in Moscow in October 2025. The date has been determined. We look forward to the League’s heads of state taking part in this event. The 8th ministerial meeting of the Russia-GCC Strategic Dialogue will take place in Sochi in September, before the summit.”
Saudi Arabian trade relations with Russia are strengthening, with bilateral trade rising from US$2.2 billion in 2021 to about US$4billion in 2024, driven by cooperation in energy, agriculture, and technology.
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