Putin, Saudi defence minister agree they have similar goals in Syria - Russia foreign minister

SOCHI, October 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Defence Minister Muhammad Bin Salman Al Saud have reiterated that their countries have similar goals concerning the situation in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday after the Russian-Saudi extended-format talks. "Special attention was focused of the situation in and around Syria," he said. "We have been closely cooperating with Saudi Arabia for years on the problem of the Syrian crisis. Today, President Vladimir Putin reiterated our understanding of Saudi Arabia’s concerns." "The sides confirmed that Saudi Arabia and Russia have similar goals concerning Syria," he said. "First of all, they are not to let a terrorist caliphate get the upper hand in Syria. In this respect, the president clearly confirmed that out militart are working in Syria exclusively against the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups." "Another goal [concerning Syria] we share with our Saudi friends is have national reconciliation in Syria so that all Syrians, regardless of their nationality or religion, feel themselves masters of their land," he said. "The Russian president and the successor to the Crown Prince [the minister of defence] discussed practical steps that might bring closer the beginning of such process." The Russian top diplomat noted that the sides had discussed "a range of ideas to implement the Geneva communique of June 30, 2012 and proposed approaches they agreed to use as a basis for further work." Read more