Russia, Saudi Arabia stress importance of consolidation in fight against IS

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Moscow and Riyadh have stressed the importance of consolidation in the fight against the Islamic State militant group, the Russian Foreign Ministry said after the May 26-27 trip to Saudi Arabia of Russian presidential envoy Mikhail Bogdanov. Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov, the envoy to the Middle East and Africa, was received in Riyadh by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Naif. He also met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. The sides confirmed the intention of Russia and Saudi Arabia for helping the immediate settlement of conflicts in the region based on the international law principles, including the UN Security Council resolutions, the ministry said. "An importance was also stressed for consolidating approaches and efforts of Moscow and Riyadh on countering new challenges and threats, namely international terrorism, including the IS and other extremist groups," it said. During the talks in Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia, the sides exchanged views on a whole range of issues of the further development of relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The sides confirmed interest in expanding the "mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas - in agriculture, nuclear energy, investments, oil industry and in framework of humanitarian contacts," the statement said. The participation of representatives of business circles of Russia and Saudi Arabia in the Russian Regions Road Show in Jeddah confirms that there are broad possibilities for the bilateral partnership, they said. In this context, the need of state authorities and organizations of Russia and Saudi Arabia to provide comprehensive support for economic operators of the two countries was also confirmed, it said. Read more